The second Sunday of May in Canada and the US, and the fourth Sunday of Lent in the UK, is Mother’s Day. The perfect occasion to honor and express gratitude to all mothers and even caregivers, it is one of the most important gift-giving holidays of the year!

According to figures released by the National Retail Federation ahead of Mother’s Day in 2022:

  • Approximately 84% of U.S. adults celebrate Mother’s Day.
  • Mother’s Day spending was expected to touch $31.7 billion. 

If you want to market your brand on this special day, Mother’s Day-themed email can help you to engage customers and drive conversions. This article will provide some amazing Mother’s Day email examples and strategies to make your campaigns stand out.

Top-Notch Mother’s Day Email Marketing Templates and Examples To Get You Started!

1. Gifts that enhance experiences 

Lululemon mother's day email templates

Source

Athletic apparel brand Lululemon’s Mother’s Day inspires shoppers to give gifts that enhance outdoor experiences. The email template, choice of visuals, and accompanying copy lead to a strong CTA. The recommendations in the email make it easy for shoppers to find perfect gifts for their mothers in a short time.

2. Gift guides for modern moms

Bezar mother day email

Source

Ecommerce platform’s campaign taps into a specific target audience with a gift guide campaign themed around the top ten products for the modern mom. The direct approach, targeted copy, and reader-friendly email design set in vibrant colors make the email eye-catching and engaging, enticing the reader to explore further.

3. Highlight the free gift

Nokia's mother day email inspiration

Source

Nokia makes the right moves with its floral-themed headline and visuals supporting the Mother’s theme. The message highlights the significance of the gifts while topping off with a gift. Furthermore, the pleasing product views and compelling CTAs ensure the user is ready to make the most of the offer.

4. Double celebration on Mother’s Day

nordstrom email design

Source

Luxury chain store Nordstrom leverages the opportunity to entice shoppers to buy something special for Mom and themselves with a catchy headline, striking product displays, and compelling CTAs. The breezy, casual tone of the ad makes it easy to relate to.

5. Leverage sentiments to drive engagement

Apple's email template to drive engagement

Source

Apple’s warm, emotional headline cuts through the noise and connects to readers’ emotions. The vibrant theme continues in the CTAs, compelling shoppers to click and make a purchase. The overall design set in simple, soothing tones creates a pleasant email reading experience. 

6. Support a worthy cause

St. Baldrick's Mother's day email design

Source

St. Baldrick Foundation’s promotional campaign connects a social cause with Mother’s Day gifting. The endearing headline encourages a more meaningful contribution rather than a traditional gift. The visuals, copy, and blog preview create an emotional connection and encourage people to participate in something more significant.

7. Gift guide with a gift card

John lewis email with mothers day gift card

Source

John Lewis & Partners pitches a gift guide and gift card for Mother’s Day. The main image contains the date as a reminder. The email template enables easy scrolling through the product list to help customers quickly find the perfect items. The overall visual hierarchy with distinct CTAs is easy to follow.

8. Create an experience around a product

food brand allset's email

Source

Food-preordering platform Allset presents creative ways to use a product. Tied in with Mother’s Day, customers can surprise their moms with something unique. The friendly tone, the use of suitable images, the attractive offer blend to provide an aesthetically pleasing email.

9. Newsletter column

This Insider's email inspiration

Source

Online restaurant reservation service OpenTable’s newsletter reminds customers to order takeout on Mother’s Day to gift mothers a kitchen-free day. The casual look and feel of the newsletter and the other constant features make it a great way to stay connected and nurture loyalty through timely offers and discounts. 

10. Fun ways to celebrate Mother’s Day

Dunkin Donut's mother's day email ideas

Source

Dunkin Donut’s affable headlines, lively fonts, clear message, and appealing color schemes capture the endearing nature of Mother’s Day. By teaming up e-gift cards with DIY greeting cards, the doughnut brand offers customers a meaningful way to celebrate their mothers while paving the way for engagement. 

11. Free shipping incentive

everlane free incentive email

Source

Clothing retailer Everlane’s email addresses the specific needs of customers who cannot meet their mothers on the day. The limited-time free shipping adds value while encouraging customers to accept the offer quickly. The striking visuals, emotional copy, and well-appointed CTAs make the email hard to ignore.

12. Enhanced shopping experience

Aesop email with personalized experience

Source

Luxury cosmetics brand Aesop’s offer of free shipping and personalized gift recommendations via live online assistance assures customers of an enhanced shopping experience. The modern graphics and the witty allusions to typical mother-child relationships further add to the charm and attraction of the email.

13. Something for last-minute shoppers

Bose's Mother's Day campaign strikes an emotional chord

Source

Bose’s Mother’s Day campaign strikes an emotional chord with this gentle reminder to shop in time. The copy recreates the product experience, and the clean fonts make this email stand out. Likewise, the high-quality product images, simple color palettes, distinct CTAs, and white space lend themselves to the overall email design.

14. Empathizing with mums

Baby monitor brand Nanit's appealing visuals

Source

Baby monitor brand Nanit’s appealing visuals connect the brand and moms everywhere. The focused, straightforward information about the offer and clear call to action keep this email well-balanced and to the point – a style that most busy moms will appreciate.

15. Exclusive offer for newsletter subscribers

The Landmark Project's exclusive offer

Source

The Landmark Project’s exclusive offer aims at rewarding loyal mother’s day newsletter subscribers with a limited-time discount. This helps shoppers feel appreciated and more likely to purchase. The minimalist email template facilitates easy navigation of the gift guide, and prominent CTA buttons guide visitors to the shopping page. 

16. Making Mother’s Day shopping easy

RetailerJ Crew's campaign

Source

RetailerJ Crew’s campaign focuses on convenience for shoppers while leaving them time to plan other aspects of the day. The conversational tone, strategic headline, relatable images, product catalog, and blog links create an engaging email. Discounts and other incentives are clearly indicated; even the CTAs are user-friendly.

17. Celebrating mothers everywhere

The Body Shop's email template

Source

The Body Shop’s email template is designed to showcase special offers and gifts at a glance. The email copy reflects the theme throughout the message. With a social media initiative around employee mums, these innovative integrations make the email stand out and provide an extra level of engagement.

18. Gifts for pet mums

Pet care brand Happy Tails email

Source

Pet care brand Happy Tails leverages gifting opportunities that translate into cost savings for pet mums. The email contains a mix of attractive offers alongside pet care tips. Overall, the playful tone, appealing visuals, and lively color palette make this email a unique Mother’s Day gifting campaign!

19. Making it a day to remember

True Botanicals' diverse offerings

Source

True Botanicals’ diverse offerings are well-organized in the email layout. The soft colors, clear-cut sections, and elegant font facilitate a pleasant viewing experience and keep this email from feeling overly text-heavy. The clear CTA buttons and fluid layout quickly guide customers to their desired products.

20. Mother’s Day special sale

Rustic Roots' attractive dreamy pink Mother's Day Sale campaign

Source

Furniture brand Rustic Roots’ attractive dreamy pink themes for its Mother’s Day Sale campaign feature an easily navigable email layout, precise offers, meaningful content, and beautiful visuals to capture your attention. The featured customer testimonials add a touch of personalization to the message.

21. Something for every mum

Online Shoes’ gift guide

Source

Online Shoes’ gift guide effectively showcases its product range catering to different footwear preferences. The witty headlines resonate with shoppers, making the email enjoyable to read. The striking product images, refreshing palette, prominent shipping/returns/exchange policies, and CTA button make this campaign click-worthy.

22. Customization works wonders

Handcrafted jewelry brand Luca + Danni's elegant Mother's Day email campaign

Source

Handcrafted jewelry brand Luca + Danni’s elegant Mother’s Day email campaign is worded in a personalized way. The overall design effectively conveys the sentiments around each product image using minimal text. The handmade paper texture in the background reflects the brand’s values and helps draw the customer’s attention.

23. Exclusive pampering 

Sulwhasoo email inspiration

Source

Sulwhasoo pitches its premium skincare as the ‘best of the best’ gift. The straightforward and confident tone of the headline instantly conveys that their limited-edition products make for a luxurious gifting experience. The aesthetically presented product range and concise product descriptions guide customers to make informed purchasing decisions.

24. Inspired by emotions

Merchandise store Curated Corner's email

Source

Merchandise store Curated Corner’s email contains the critical elements for a compelling email – a beautiful picture, a heartwarming message, good product placement, and distinct CTA buttons to urge readers to shop. The overall image is one of warmth with plenty of incentive to make a purchase.

25. Celebrating all women on Mother’s Day

Rustic Roots' attractive dreamy pink Mother's Day Sale campaign

Source

While celebrating Mother’s Day, this unique campaign by Treasured Gifts sends a powerful message recognizing all women who have made a difference in our lives. The range of gift categories helps customers find the right gifts easily. The minimal and subtle copy effectively conveys the message. 

26. Feel-good gifts

Elegance email design

Source

The email marketing campaign of this wellness and spa brand combines a special offer with an emotional message to encourage customers to get something nice for their moms. The design and layout facilitate an understanding of the different packages and help customers find the best gift for their loved ones.

27. Limited edition gifts

Millie's Cookies' email

Source

Millie’s Cookies’ email lets shoppers make Mother’s Day memorable with limited edition personalized cookies and gift cards for year-round delights. The warm, friendly tone, complemented by a cheerful design with the key messages and CTAs distinctly highlighted CTAs, make this email a sure winner.

28. Never too late

BIrchbox gets right across to late shoppers!

Source

Personal care brand BIrchbox gets right across to late shoppers! The well-designed message directly addresses this segment, with all the offer details mentioned clearly and highlighted. The appealing visuals and product display make it a quick and easy-to-read note for the last-minute shopper.

29. Opt-out email

supermarket chain Waitrose

Source

This email by supermarket chain Waitrose is an excellent example of empathetic email marketing. The straightforward headline and understanding tone of the message, accompanied by relevant CTAs helps reflect brand values and nurture long-term association with customers.

30. A non-sales message

Mattress brand Tuft and Needle’s gently-worded message

Source

Mattress brand Tuft and Needle’s gently-worded message -sans any sales pitch – tugs at the customer’s emotions. This unique approach to celebrating Mother’s Day helps to enable the brand to stand out amidst the clutter based on its values of respect, integrity, and loyalty. 

Mother’s Day Email Best Practices

Mothers Day Email Best Practices Banner

Following tried and tested best practices can ensure your emails get the results you’re looking for.

Here are some points to consider:

1. Mention Mother’s Day in the subject line: 

First and foremost, highlight your goals. The interest your subject line evokes motivates your contacts to decide if they want to open your email or not. A short, catchy headline will help your message get noticed in the inbox. Avoid misleading headlines; it will likely get reported as spam and defeat the purpose.

2. Be consistent: 

Sometimes less is more, especially when targeting customers on the go. When it comes to design, keep it simple and reader-friendly. Ensure your branding is easily recognized with a visible logo, as brand recognition facilitates email engagement. If subscribers doubt the sender, they’ll likely mark the email as spam.

More importantly, maintain consistency across your marketing and transactional emails so your contacts can easily recognize them.

3. Implement segmentation:

Segmenting your email lists ensures that you send targeted content in the right proportion. It also enables your audience to progress down the funnel and improves your ROI. So send emails only to engaged contacts while adapting the messages using segmentation and personalization tools.

4. Use a catchy CTA:

 Implement your primary CTA strategically above the fold. This helps it stands out immediately upon opening the email. Likewise, avoid placing too many CTAs in your emails, as it may overwhelm your readers. Where your emails have a list of products, you can implement ‘Shop For’ CTAs. While for Mother’s Day events, you can create a ‘Know More’ button. 

5. Opt for authentic images: 

Running text can bring monotony and make the message difficult to understand. Using authentic ‘real mom’ images distinguish your brand from photoshopped or stock photos. Enhancing the appearance and appeal of your email can help drive conversion. Nonetheless, always add alt text as backup text if the contact blocks or turns off images.

6. Make your subscribers smile:

Putting a smile on your readers’ faces can boost email engagement – and this goes for your Mother’s Day email campaigns too.

Humor adds personality to your emails and humanizes your brand. Moreover, it sounds less promotional and more inspirational. Even a simple email with a clear CTA and friendly, light-hearted, humorous reminder to buy the gift can trigger a conversion.

7. Design to optimize engagement:

Email templates help marketers enhance email subject lines. Therefore when sending an email, select an email template that matches your email offer. For example, if you plan to provide discount codes in your email, it is advisable to opt for interactive discount code email templates. 

Notably, ensure plenty of blank space as this allows the reader to scan, interpret, scan, and break down content into reader-friendly units.

8. Create inclusive campaigns catering to different budgets

Broaden the scope of your target audiences by offering customers the option to shop for gifts within a specific price range. When email layouts showcase products organized around specific budgets, customers who would have typically ignored the email may be inspired to take a look.

Notably, segmentation can help marketers target the price-conscious and big spenders accordingly.

9. Create a buzz using gamification: 

Let your subscribers find your campaigns are not the usual sales talk but are fun-filled experiences. Invite them to participate in special contests and even lotteries themed around Mother’s Day. 

Gamification in Mother’s day email marketing can help you boost engagement rates and motivate customers to explore your offers and visit your site. However, at the outset, ensure the rules are clearly explained, and the prize is worth the time and effort of your subscribers.

10.  Pre-test your campaigns on different devices: 

With A/B testing to determine which email version is more effective, check that all links are functional and seamless across different devices, especially mobiles. 

Also, check that landing pages and other pages you’ve linked to are optimized for mobile. 

11. Offer social proof:

No one wants their Mother’s Day gift to go wrong. So, choosing a trustworthy and reliable brand is vital during the purchase journey.

Leveraging social media testimonials in your campaign can be crucial in reassuring potential customers about your brand, for instance, star ratings, written reviews, testimonials, and even real photos of customers from social media. These can help amp up confidence in your product quality and your ability to deliver Mother’s Day goodies on time, at the correct address, without any glitches.

12.  Mention delivery dates:

Ensure your message informs customers about the main delivery dates for your Mother’s Day gifts and products. This will help them plan and avoid delays.

You can upsell your delivery offerings with facilities like same or next-day delivery and other fast-track delivery options. Likewise, you can implement personalized delivery information. Once the delivery address is added, dynamic content blocks can be used along with geotargeting to highlight delivery timings based on the destination.

Mother’s Day Email Strategies

Mothers Day Email Strategies

A well-planned, organized approach can help you craft and implement a successful email campaign. Here are a few tips to help you do that:

1. Identify your goals

Before launching your campaign, it’s essential to determine what you want your emails to achieve. For example, are you hoping to drive sales, increase engagement, or any other? Defining your goals in advance will help you stay on task and ensure that every email you send is purposeful.

2. Select your target audience and implement segmentation

Instead of blasting generic emails to your entire database (which can be time-saving), invest some effort in understanding your target audience and their needs. For example, defining specific groups, such as children, fathers, and others, will help you to engage audiences with targeted messages. Also, segmenting your audience enables you to craft emails tailored around distinct needs and expectations.

3. Be sure to include moms-to-be and motherly figures

Including moms-to-be in your campaigns will help you reach out to a broader target audience and show that you care about the special moment in their life when they become a mother. Apart from maternity wear or pregnancy books, items like bathing salts, foot massagers, or gift cards for a spa day are great gifts.

Likewise, on this day, extend the celebrations to include stepmoms, elder sisters, aunts, caregivers, and all those who play a motherly role in your subscribers’ lives. 

4. Align your campaign type per customer’s needs

One of the vital aspects of the strategy should include understanding the needs and expectations of the mothers on your list and trying to address them as much as possible. 

From sales/discounts and free shipping to expressing gratitude, you can choose various activities and relevant email templates to help your customers engage with you. Determining this need will help you select the type of campaign you want to create and your emails’ content, tone, and format.

5. Aim to capture the emotions that Mother’s Day evokes

Your email should resonate with your readers, so include heartfelt messages and visuals appropriate for the occasion. Plan your campaign in a way that gives you time to A/B test the versions you plan to send. For instance, you could try one version with a mushy hearts and flowers theme, while another could be a more direct product message.

6. Build a narrative around the experience a specific product offers

Instead of hammering the discounts and points that make your product unique, emphasize the emotional experience it can create for mothers. Show your shoppers how using your products or services can bring mums joy, comfort, and peace of mind. Writing a blog post in your Mother’s Day campaign can help you convey this message.

7. Be a resource person – share best mother’s day gift ideas

Finding the right gift can be a very challenging task for some. Moreso, with so many options, it only makes things more difficult.

Help your readers by providing a curated selection of gift ideas that reflect their mother’s interests or lifestyle. You could feature individual products, present bundles, and/or highlight suitable product categories. 

Making the decision process more straightforward and presenting gift ideas with distinct CTAs (call-to-action )makes it easier for your customers to shop.

8. Leverage personalization to create meaningful connections

Where you have an extensive product range, you may not be able to present the whole range in your email. Focus on personalization and craft messaging that simplifies the shopping process for your email recipients. 

To implement this strategy successfully, you can offer personalized recommendations by leveraging your subscriber data. Alternatively, you can use segmentation to send different emails to specific customer groups based on their behavior, preferences, or demographics.

9. Strike a balance between hard-sell and heartfelt

Ensure your emails don’t come off as too promotional. Instead, even with irresistible offers, compelling copy, visually appealing, and readable typography with suitable color schemes and images can be more impactful on such occasions than hard-sell, incentive-driven email copy.

10.  Timeliness helps showcase exclusiveness

Give your shoppers a feeling of being able to treat their mothers with an exclusive gift. Rather than drowning in the sea of generic offers and heavy discounting in the days leading up to Mother’s Day, launch your campaign a couple of weeks before the holiday, promoting exclusivity over discounts. The lead time will help you engage with your subscribers with more impactful messages.

11. Offer an unsubscribe link

While this is the time to celebrate, in most cases, for some of your subscribers, the day can bring back hurtful memories. Ensure to include an unsubscribe link in your emails so that if any of your subscribers choose not to participate in the celebration, they can easily opt-out. Essentially be the brand that empowers your subscribers and keeps them in control of their experience.

12. Generate a sense of urgency

Presenting your offer as a limited-time offer will encourage urgency in your customers to make quicker decisions. Add elements such as a countdown timers, limited-time discounts, and temporary promo codes to create urgency. 

Likewise, factor in the last-minute customers. Ensure you have a stock of ready-to-ship products with same or next-day delivery. This will help capture their attention and drive more sales.

Summary

Email marketing is one of the most impactful tools for businesses looking to connect with their audience, drive revenues, and foster long-term customer relationships. 

This article will prepare you for some fantastic Mother’s Day email campaigns that reach your recipient’s inbox.

However, if you still want to bring in the experts so that you can focus on your primary business, that’s perfect too. InboxArmy is an established email agency offering various services such as Email Marketing Campaign Management Services Let us help you engage your customers this Mothers Day!

Valentine’s Day isn’t just about romantic love. It’s a celebration of connections, emotions, and, in the marketing world, an excellent chance to connect with your audience on a more personal level.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, marketers have a unique opportunity to channel their creative energies into crafting heartwarming and compelling email campaigns. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer looking for some fresh inspiration to elevate your strategies or a newcomer eager to make a memorable impact, this article is for you.

We’ll give you some valuable tips and illuminating Valentine’s day email examples to spark your creativity and guide you through emails that resonate, engage (see what I did there?), and, hopefully, convert.

Let’s dive in.

25  Valentine’s Day Email Examples

Ready to make your subscribers’ hearts skip a beat? Look at these Valentine’s Day campaign ideas.

1. Early Bird Valentine’s 

You don’t have to wait until February 14th to send out your Valentine’s email. Consider sending at least one email or two in the week or two leading up to Valentine’s Day. Offer early bird discounts and special gifts.

LoveSilver has an “early Valentine’s gift” email giving subscribers to get 10% off their order. 

Lovesilver email

2. “Tell Them What You Want” 

Gift giving is hard! Sometimes, we wish the person would just tell us what they want. This campaign solves that problem. Compile gift ideas and encourage users to forward the email.

Urbanstems email suggests forwarding their email to your Valentine to make the gifting process easier. 

Urbanstems-email-suggests-forwarding-their-email-to-your-Valentine-to-make-the-gifting-process-easier

3. Don’t Forget Your Furry Friend

Attach a furry friend to your Valentine’s Day deal – because who can resist a cute pup or kitten with a heart-shaped balloon? This email from Postable is a great example. Postable caters to customers’ unique needs with gifts for a lover, family member, or pet!

Postable-email-example

4. Valentine’s Gifts For Friends and Family 

Craft a Valentine’s email for friends and family that goes beyond romance. For people who want to gift more than one “sweetheart,” feature diverse gift ideas like baskets and themed assortments. 

Encourage celebrating platonic and familial connections. Use a lighthearted, inclusive tone. Frame Valentine’s as a time for all kinds of love.

REP Fitness’s “Swolemate” email is a playful rebellion against the traditional Valentine’s Day focus.

REP-Fitnesss-Swolemate-email-is-a-playful-rebellion-against-the-traditional-Valentines-Day-focus.jpg

Gussi’s Valentine’s email offers a deal for subscribers and their “bestie.” 

Gussis-Valentines-email-offers-a-deal-for-subscribers-and-their-bestie.jpg

5. Valentine’s Day For Those Flying Solo

Don’t forget those who are “flying solo” this Valentine’s Day. Highlight the joy of self-indulgence and recommend personalized gifts to elevate their solo Valentine’s experience. 

Check out Fitbit’s example of a solo Valentine’s campaign. 

Check-out-Fitbits-example-of-a-solo-Valentines-campaign.jpg

6. Interactive Content

Enhance engagement by incorporating interactive content into your emails. Quizzes, polls, or clickable elements are simple ways to get subscribers involved. Interactive content encourages recipients to actively participate and spend more time with your brand. 

What activity could you invite your subscribers to participate in? Leibherr invites subscribers to participate in designing their fridges. The email also highlights Leibherr’s recycling efforts, making subscribers feel even better when they participate. 

Liebheer

7. Special Offers and Promotions

Holidays are synonymous with discounts, promotions, and special offers. Marketers can use email campaigns to announce exclusive deals, limited-time offers, or bundle promotions, encouraging recipients to take advantage of these seasonal incentives.

This Fable email is a good example of a minimalist product recommendation campaign.

This-Fable-email-is-a-good-example-of-a-minimalist-product-recommendation-campaign.jpg

8. Gift Guides and Recommendations

Provide value to your audience by curating holiday gift guides or product recommendations. Choosing the perfect gift takes time and emotional labor. Take the frustration out of the process with gift guides. 

Apple provides a last-minute gift guide for subscribers.

Apple emails

9. Customer Appreciation

Holidays are an ideal time to express gratitude to your customers. Email campaigns can include thank-you messages, exclusive perks for loyal customers, or even surprise gifts. For Valentine’s Day, you could share a customer appreciation email with a “Share the love” CTA. 

Read Charity Water’s customer appreciation email. The layout and message are minimalistic and sweet. 

Charity-Waters-customer-appreciation-email.jpg

10. Valentine’s Day Playlist

Compile a playlist of Valentine’s Day songs. Personalize the tunes based on gender or a date idea. For example, “Steal our Valentine’s Day Picnic Date Playlist.” or “Valentine’s tunes for her.”

Hugo and Marie provide a great example of a Valentine’s Day playlist. 

Hugo and Marie provide a great example of a Valentine’s Day playlist..jpg

11. Romantic Getaway Ideas

Who wouldn’t want a relaxing getaway? Compile a list of local or international destinations. Tailor the getaway to a specific event in the subscriber’s life, such as a honeymoon or anniversary. Essential Costa Rica has a great getaway email featuring a honeymoon getaway. 

Essential-Costa-Rica-has-a-great-getaway-email-featuring-a-honeymoon-getaway.jpg

12. Share the Love with Referrals

Referral emails are a great way to convert current subscribers and acquire new leads. Encourage subscribers to refer friends, family, or their partners for exclusive discounts. Check out Ghia’s referral email. 

Check-out-Ghias-referral-email.jpg

13. Date Ideas

During Valentine’s Day, it’s not just about the gifts. It can be about experiences, too. Couples may spend weeks and months researching the “perfect date.” Make this a little easier on them with unique ideas.

Character is a great example. The email includes a common challenge couples face–finishing DIY projects around the house. The idea seamlessly connects with Characters products. 

Charachter email

14. Secret Admirer or Secret Offer? 

Share a personalized promotion in the form of a secret admirer’s love letter. This email from MacDonald’s is an excellent example of this idea!

email-from-MacDonalds.jpg

15. Valentine’s Day 24-Hour Sale

Urgency tends to work really well to drive conversions. Create buzz with an exclusive and time-bound sale. This works for products or services and can be marketed as a gift for others or a personal gift! For example, “Hurry! 24h sitewide sale–our gift to you.”

Serenata Flowers offers a 24-hour sale for subscribers. 

serenta email

16. Encourage Sustainability 

More consumers want to shop and behave more sustainably. Demonstrate that your brand aligns with this desire by sharing ideas with a low environmental impact. This could be sustainable date ideas or reusable products.

This email from Everest beautifully demonstrates this idea. The email includes multiple ideas and seamlessly connects their product. 

This-email-from-Everest-beautifully-includes-multiple-ideas-seamlessly-connects-their-product.jpg

17. Emotional And Mental Health

Consumers are increasingly concerned with their mental and emotional health. Brands that relate their products and services to these needs create a bond of trust. 

Does your offering make life easier for your customers? Does your offer save someone time so they can be with their loved ones more? Consider using this email campaign to highlight the health benefits of your offering!

Calm has a wonderful “My dear self” email highlighting their application offering.

calm email

18. Valentine’s Day Collection Launch

Have a new product or service you are launching? Consider creating a Valentine’s collection or “launch” to showcase specific offerings. 

Meemes sent out a special Valentine’s Day collection with new product announcements. 

meems email

19. Opt Out Email

A unique and considerate email to send to subscribers who just don’t want to hear it. Considering these feelings, send a short but sweet “Opt Out” email.

Scribbler has a great Valentine’s opt-out email example. 

scribbler email

20. “Our Most Gifted” Campaign: Highlight Popular Purchases

Do you have a product or service your customers can’t get enough of? Feature this product in your Valentine’s email campaign. 

Lily & Roo’s “Our Most Gifted” email campaign features its top products in each category. It also includes gift wrapping and personalized engraving. 

21. Personalized Poem

Personal letters and poems are often used as gifts during Valentine’s. Why not try this out with your subscribers? Create unique poems that touch on the holidays and your offering. Tangerine email is a great example. 

Tangerine email

22. Customizable Products or Virtual Cards

Help couples celebrate milestones and achievements. Customizable products like jewelry, flowers, sweets, and art can be tailored to each person. These types of gifts are more sentimental.

If your product cannot necessarily be customized, offer personalized messages or virtual cards with purchases. Minted offers customizable Valentine’s cards and free recipient addresses with a purchase. 

minted emails

23. Giveaway Raffle or Competition

Invite subscribers to participate in a giveaway. This strategy can boost engagement and build excitement. You can also increase the average purchase order using this strategy. For example, “All orders over $75 are automatically entered to win a $250 restaurant voucher.”

Take a look at No Excess’s hotel voucher email.  

No Excess email

24. Exclusive New Subscriber Appreciation Offer

For new subscribers during Valentine’s Day, offer exclusive perks. This could be a free gift, exclusive discount, or early access to product launches. Blossoming Gifts has a simple new subscriber appreciation letter with an exclusive discount.

Blossming gift emails 

25. Almost Sold Out 

For popular products that sell out quickly, send out an email notifying subscribers. For subscribers still on the fence, this email can motivate them to act. 

Revolve has a “Soon To Sell Out” email campaign for their best-selling outfits. 

Revolve email

Valentine’s Day Email Campaign Tips and Tricks 

Like any holiday, Valentine’s Day offers many opportunities for marketers to deliver unique creative that you may not see during “normal” times of year. These tips below will help you craft a Valentine’s Day campaign that takes advantage of this opportunity and boosts both conversions and customer loyalty.

1. Timing is Everything – Like Love

Would you pop the question at the wrong time? Hopefully not.

Timing matters. And there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that question of the “perfect time.” The good news? You get to find out!

Test different days and times and see what achieves the highest open rate. There are platforms and AI tools that help you identify which day and times to send campaigns. 

Check these factors to identify the best timing to email your audience

  • Analyze Past Data. Review historical data for open, click-through, and conversion rates to identify patterns.
  • Know and Understand Your Audience. Understand demographics and behaviors, considering factors like location and industry.
  • Conduct A/B Testing. Use A/B testing to pinpoint the optimal timing for audience engagement.
  • Consider Time Zones. Schedule emails to align with local times, especially for au diences in different time zones.
  • Research Industry Benchmarks. Use this as a “level set” to see how you perform against the rest of your industry–but prioritize your unique audience.
  • Identify Your Mobile Usage Patterns. Optimize for mobile and send emails during typical mobile usage times.
  • Monitor Engagement Metrics in Real Time. Use real-time analytics to adjust strategies based on immediate feedback.

2. Use Subject Lines That Make Hearts Skip a Beat

The subject line is one of the first things your audience will see. Craft subject lines that are personal and intriguing. A/B test subject lines to identify what your subscribers respond to. 

Consider these tips to improve your subject lines and open rates:

Tug at Heartstrings

Infuse emotion into your subject lines by appealing to the sentimental side of your audience. Use language that resonates with your audience’s feelings. For those who have a partner, align with feelings of love, joy, or nostalgia. For instance, “Rediscover Love: Our Heartfelt Valentine’s Day Collection Awaits You.”

Take a Playful Approach

Inject a dose of playfulness and humor into your subject lines. This is your chance to showcase your brand’s personality–so go the extra mile. For example, “Love is in the Inbox: Our Cupid-Approved Deals Await!”

Build Intrigue

Begin your subject line with a hint of mystery or excitement. Tease your subscribers with a question, a playful hint, or an enticing snippet that leaves them curious and eager to open the email. For example, “Unwrap Love: Your Secret Valentine’s Surprise Inside!” 

3. Personalize, Personalize, Personalize

Use customer data to create personalized experiences. It’s like whispering sweet nothings directly into your inbox. Including someone’s name is a given, but don’t stop there. Personalize subject lines, body, promotional offers, timing, and images.

BONUS TIP: Email Segmentation by gender is a great way to level up personalization efforts. Send out gender-specific content, offers, gift lists, and more. 

4. Mobile Optimization – Because Love Is On the Go

On the go” consumers increasingly rely on mobile to view emails and shop. To cater to your audience’s needs, do not neglect mobile optimization.

Check these factors for mobile compatibility:

  • Responsive Design. Ensure your email templates adapt to different screen sizes. View your email on different devices to check the elements. 
  • Legible Text. Use readable fonts and appropriate text sizes. Calligraphy and fancy fonts are pretty but can be challenging to read. If you choose to experiment with fonts, check their legibility. 
  • Image Optimization. Compress and optimize images for faster loading.
  • Clear CTAs. Make buttons and links easy to tap and direct subscribers to the right links. 
  • Minimalistic Layout. Simplify the design for mobile users. Less is more on mobile. 
  • Thumb-Friendly. Place important elements within easy thumb reach. 
  • Single Column Layout. Consider a single-column layout for vertical scrolling on a phone. 
  • Alt Text for Images. Include descriptive alt text for blocked images.

Emails that aren’t optimized for mobile are deleted by 69% of users. Don’t get rejected by your subscribers because of this simple mistake. 

5. Love Notes in the Copy

Write your email copy like a heartfelt love letter. Use language that resonates emotionally, making your subscribers feel like they’ve just received a sweet note from a secret admirer. After all, who doesn’t love a good love story? 

Use your audience data to research and write relevant content. Make it informative, engaging, and relevant to their needs. If your audience is segmented, consider customizing the content for each segment. 

If you struggle to create content for your audience, consider using an AI email marketing content generation tool

6. Heartfelt Unsubscribe Option

Don’t be afraid to use a bit of humor in the unsubscribe process. Instead of the usual dreary goodbye, make it light-hearted! Something like, “Breaking up is hard, but if you must, we’ll send you off with a virtual hug. Unsubscribe with love!” It’s a quirky touch that leaves a positive last impression.

Ready to elevate your Valentine’s Day or other holiday email campaigns without the stress? Let us infuse passion into your campaign with our expert touch. Contact InboxArmy an email marketing agency based in US.

Ah, Father’s Day – the annual celebration that brings out the punny dad jokes, nostalgic photo albums, and sentimental musings from the most unexpected sources. As marketers, we know that capturing the essence of this holiday in a digital medium is no easy task. So how do you navigate the mix of humor, emotion, and appreciation with father’s day email that comes with honoring the father figures in our lives while still keeping your brand message intact and effective?

In this blog, we’re diving into the world of Father’s Day email marketing campaigns, sharing exemplary examples that strike the perfect balance between heartwarming and engaging. So let’s get started!

104 Father’s Day Email Subject Lines That Can Work For You!

Sentimental Father’s Day Email Subject Lines

  1. Celebrate Dad: The Man, The Myth, The Legend!
  2. To the World’s Best Dad, Happy Father’s Day!
  3. Your Dad Deserves the Best: Surprise Him Today!
  4. Cheers to the Man Who Taught Us Everything!
  5. Dad, You’re Our Hero – Happy Father’s Day
  6. Show Dad Your Love with These 10 Special Gifts
  7. A Father’s Love is Timeless: 10 Gift Ideas for Dad
  8. A Day to Remember: Celebrating Dad’s Love This Father’s Day!
  9. Father’s Day Magic: Make it a Day to Remember!
  10. Our Fathers, Our Mentors: Celebrate His Wisdom!
  11. For the Ultimate Super Dad: Happy Father’s Day!
  12. A Father’s Love: Celebrate with the Perfect Gift
  13. To the Man Who Holds Our Hearts: Happy Father’s Day!
  14. Father’s Day-The Perfect Day to Say ‘Thanks For Everything’!
  15. Show Dad He’s Your Hero This Father’s Day
  16. Dad Needs a Break: Gifts for the Hardworking Hero!

Humorous Father’s Day Subject Lines

  1. Father’s Day: Get Dad a Gift He Won’t Return!
  2. Keep Calm & Dad On: Gifts for Every Dad!
  3. The King of Dad Jokes Deserves a Treat!
  4. For the Dad Who Has Everything (Except This)!
  5. Dad’s Gift: Cooler Than His Cargo Shorts
  6. Dad’s Day: Upgrade His Wardrobe (and Jokes)
  7. Warning: Dad’s New Favorite Gift Inside!
  8. Father’s Day Gifts Better Than a New Tie!
  9. What Do You Call a Fake Noodle? An Impasta, Dad!
  10. Funny Father’s Day: Gifts to Make Your Dad Laugh Out Hard!
  11. Father’s Day Gifts: Who Says Socks Are Boring?
  12. Dad-Approved Gifts For This Father’s Day
  13. Don’t Let Dad Grill Alone This Father’s Day
  14. For the Dad Who Loves Puns (and Gifts)

Promotional Father’s Day Email Subject Lines

  1. Crazy Father’s Day Deals Inside: Don’t Miss Out!
  2. Father’s Day Sale: Up to 50% Off Gifts for Dad!
  3. Exclusive Father’s Day Offers: Shop Now and Save Big!
  4. 10 Limited Time Father’s Day Discounts Just For You!
  5. Last Chance: Father’s Day Sale Ends Tonight!
  6. Father’s Day Savings: Grab the Perfect Gift Now!
  7. Save Big on Gifts for Dad: Father’s Day Specials
  8. Celebrate Dad with Our Exclusive Father’s Day Sale!
  9. Father’s Day Flash Sale: 24 Hours Only!
  10. Unbelievable Collection Of ProductName Just For You!
  11. 10 Unbeatable Father’s Day Deals: Don’t Miss Out!
  12. Time’s Running Out For Father’s Day Offers. 12 Hours to Go!
  13. Save Big on Dad-Approved Gifts: Father’s Day Sale!
  14. Special Offer: Free Shipping On All Father’s Day Gifts Today
  15. Father’s Day BOGO: Buy One, Get One for Dad!
  16. Extra Savings for Father’s Day: Use Code DAD20

Personalized Father’s Day Subject Lines

  1. Hey [Name], Your Dad Will Love These Gifts!
  2. [Name], Your Dad’s One-of-a-Kind, So Are Our Gifts
  3. [Name], Grab These Custom Gifts for Dad
  4. Personalized Father’s Day Gifts Just for [Dad’s Name]
  5. [Name], Make Dad Smile with These Unique Gifts
  6. Hand-Picked Father’s Day Gifts for [Dad’s Name]
  7. Dad’s Wish List: Gifts He’ll Love, [Name]
  8. [Name], Get Dad a Gift That’s All About Him
  9. Custom Gifts for Dad: [Name], Don’t Miss Out
  10. [Name], Show Dad He’s One in a Million
  11. [Name], Celebrate Dad with These Exclusive Gifts
  12. [Name], This Father’s Day, Make It Personal
  13. [Dad’s Name] Deserves the Best: Shop Now
  14. [Name], Your Dad Will Love These Special Gifts
  15. [Name], Surprise Dad with a Gift Just for Him
  16. [Dad’s Name]’s Day: Make It Memorable, [Name]
  17. Personalized Father’s Day Gifts for [Dad’s Name]
  18. [Name], Make Father’s Day Unforgettable for Dad

Last-Minute Reminder Father’s Day Email Subject Lines

  1. Don’t Forget: Father’s Day Is Almost Here!
  2. Last Call: Order Dad’s Gift in Time for Father’s Day
  3. Father’s Day Countdown: Last 24 Hours for Timely Delivery!
  4. Running Out of Time? Shop Last-Minute Father’s Day Gifts
  5. Tick Tock: Father’s Day Is Just Around the Corner
  6. Father’s Day Is Sunday: Don’t Miss Out On These Gifts!
  7. Time’s Almost Up: Grab These Last-Minute Father’s Day Gifts
  8. Final Hours: Order Dad’s Gift Before It’s Too Late!
  9. Don’t Let Dad Down: Shop Last-Minute Gifts Today
  10. Procrastinators Rejoice: 10 Last-Minute Father’s Day Gifts
  11. Last-Minute Father’s Day Shopping? We’ve Got You Covered
  12. Hurry, Order Now to Make Dad’s Day Special!
  13. The Clock Is Ticking: Father’s Day Gifts Await
  14. Don’t Leave Dad Hanging: Order Today!
  15. Just in Time: 10 Last-Minute Gifts for Father’s Day

Product/Category Focused Father’s Day Email Subject Lines

  1. Tech Gadgets Dad Will Love This Father’s Day!
  2. Upgrade Dad’s Wardrobe: 10 Stylish Father’s Day Gifts
  3. Top Father’s Day Picks: 10 Bestselling Books for Dad
  4. Father’s Day Gift Guide: 10 BBQ & Grilling Essentials
  5. Dad’s Home Office Makeover: Father’s Day Edition!
  6. Treat Dad to Relaxation: 10 Spa Day Gifts for Father’s Day
  7. Adventure Awaits: 10 Father’s Day Gifts for Outdoorsy Dads
  8. For the DIY Dad: 10 Tools & Gadgets for Father’s Day
  9. Father’s Day Sports Gifts: Make Dad’s Day a Home Run!
  10. Get Dad Cooking: 10 Father’s Day Kitchen Must-Haves!
  11. The Perfect Pour: 10 Father’s Day Gifts for Coffee Lovers
  12. Father’s Day Gift Ideas: Classy Golf Gear for Dad!
  13. A Toast to Dad: Father’s Day Gifts for Wine Enthusiasts
  14. Capture the Moment: Cameras & Gear for Father’s Day
  15. The Ultimate Father’s Day Gaming Gift Guide!
  16. Cruise into Father’s Day: 10 Gifts for the Biker Dad!
  17. Timeless Timepieces: 10 Watches for Father’s Day

Experience Gifts Father’s Day Subject Lines

  1. Father’s Day Experiences To Make Memories with Dad
  2. Create Lasting Memories This Father’s Day
  3. Dad’s Day Out: Book a Special Experience for Father’s Day
  4. Unforgettable Father’s Day: 10 Unique Experiences For Dad!
  5. Skip the Tie & Gift Dad an Experience This Father’s Day
  6. Make Father’s Day Memorable With Experiences Dad Will Love
  7. Share a Special Moment: Father’s Day Experience Ideas
  8. The Best Father’s Day Gift? Quality Time with Dad

30 Father’s Day Email Examples That Work!

It’s time to showcase your offerings and make this Father’s Day truly memorable for your audience. These 30 handpicked examples will capture your subscribers’ attention, tug at their heartstrings, tickle their funny bones, and, most importantly, encourage them to click, engage, and shop! Let’s dive in.

A Simple Wish From Jack Spade

A simple wish from Jack Spade

Source

Staying true to their brand’s monotone design philosophy, this email from Jack Spade opts for a simple wish that connects with the reader. The copy is relatable and aims to evoke emotion while simply reminding the reader that the brand is just around the corner for every occasion.

Father’s Day gift guide from Kohler

Source

A copy-heavy email example, Kohler opts to focus on the experience of their products here instead of going for the hard sell. By addressing the right detractors that readers might have (such as the cumbersome work of replacing a showerhead), the brand ensures that your father’s day marketing messages are not lost and there are tangible takeaways from the marketing campaigns.

Gift cards from Hestan

Source

Hestan moves away from the stereotypes with this unique idea of gifting cookware for Father’s Day. The marketing message successfully targets a wider audience with gift cards of different values. The relatable tone, the warm color schemes, and the prominent product display enhance the overall appeal of the ad.

Father’s Day deals from Google Store

Source

Google Store’s simple, well-designed email templates effectively highlight some of its best deals and savings as part of its Father’s Day promotions. The preview of upcoming products also gives readers a unique heads-up on what to expect. In addition, the catchy headline and good use of CTAs trigger urgency and encourage customers to act.

Limited inventory sale from Misc.Goods. Co.

Source

This American-made premium lifestyle brand leverages Father’s Day to promote its limited inventory sale comprising varying discounts. From the email subject line to the tan background, the email reflects the modern, masculine aesthetic of the brand. The visual hierarchy, reader-friendly templates, and CTAs keep readers engaged.

Savings on Father’s Day Gift

Source

Security systems brand Ring plays around the safety factor in the copy and visuals to promote its Father’s Day campaigns. The neat discounts, authentic tone, clear benefits, relevant visuals, and simple layout effectively captures the reader’s attention. The overall design subtly conveys a sense of trust and urgency, especially among last-minute shoppers.

Fitness for Father’s Day

Source

With an empowering subject line, fitness brand Peloton digs deep into the Father’s Day spirit, engaging subscribers with the offer details in the header. The copy is the hero as it lists out different ways to engage with the brand. With visuals of noticeably different-aged ‘dads,’ the email campaign offers something for everyone.

Humor with a purpose

Source

Fitvine’s email campaign for Father’s Day comprises a light-hearted joke built around the product, followed by the offer and a witty conclusion, all in a reader-friendly template. Of course, the product images are spaciously organized too. But, with gentle humor, the campaign distinctly contains recommendations so customers can make informed decisions.

Targeted Holiday Gift Guide

Source

In its email campaign Moment Lens, curates the top Father’s Day gifts to make the search easier! While inspiring subscribers to shop early and rest easy, the personalized tone and well-planned layout facilitate a positive customer experience. The distinct CTAs, enable clear paths to purchase and are backed by creative visuals that draw attention to the featured items.

Unsubscribe campaign to stand out from the clutter

Source

This path-breaking campaign by Fly by Jing invited audiences to unsubscribe if they felt overwhelmed by the seasonal emails. The mindful approach helped convert an expected negative into a positive by showing the brand’s concern for customers. By using the brand colors, the campaign managed to stay true to the brand’s core values.

Exclusive offer for Father’s Day

Source

Premium wooden toy brand Candylab’s straightforward email ad appeals to dads who are into cars. With an exclusive deal on their iconic car models and pairing it with unique coffees, it offers the best of both worlds! In terms of email design and layout, it showcases the products clearly with precise messaging.

Gifts for all types of dads

Source

Specialty retailer JCrew’s Father’s Day email campaign promotes its range for all types of dads – classic, casual, sporty, and more! The witty headlines for each section serve as a guide and help personalize the gift-shopping experience for all types of dads. The product display is also well organized, making browsing and shopping easy.

Shopping for grooming products made easy

Source

Grooming brand Birchbox combines straightforward copy, aesthetic visuals, prominent CTAs, and an organized layout to create an email campaign ideally suited for Father’s Day. In addition, the headers direct readers to benefit from loyalty programs and other membership details. In sum, the email campaign makes shopping for grooming products easy and fun!

A legacy of celebrating fatherhood

Source

Premium clothing brand Brooks Brothers have established its credentials as a company that honors and celebrates fatherhood since 18181. The muted colors in the campaign, visuals of father-children ties, and simple CTAs capture the essence of the occasion – encouraging customers to express their love and gratitude for fathers everywhere.

Personal styling as a unique gift

Source

Personal styling brand Stitch Fix offers subscribers to treat their dads with personalized gifts. The email copy mentions the date to encourage customers to buy gifts quickly. This example is ideal for brands where visuals are vital in conveying the message. Moreover, busy recipients can easily understand the message, making it easy to engage.

Father’s Day Cards

Source

This is a classic example of using technology to facilitate a traditional card exchange on Father’s Day. The simple copy targeting last-minute shoppers, the email purpose, the CTA at the top, and the high-quality imagery make this an example of an email campaign that’s to the point and values the reader’s time.

Gift guides for enhanced customer experience

Source

Premium online marketplace Italic’s Father’s Day email is designed as a gift guide. The compelling ad headline is sure to capture customers’ attention. Likewise, the email features various products for every type of dad. The subtle color palette, clear product images, and concise messaging create an excellent customer shopping experience.

High-end gifts for Father’s Day

Source

This sleek, stylish Father’s Day email campaign by battery electric car Lucid Air emphasizes a message of impactful gift-giving while leveraging an opportunity for product awareness and trial in the form of a fully refundable reservation. This email encourages target audiences to engage with the brand and make informed decisions.

For dads at the top of their game.

Nike’s creative email campaign leverages the sporting spirit of most dads to buy into their Father’s Day CTA. Blending light-hearted marketing copy with engaging visual and informational content, Nike caters to fathers’ online and offline shopping preferences. The simple visual hierarchy of the email makes it easy to understand and respond to.

Sweet treats to indulge your dad

Source

Collin Street Bakers go into festive mode on Father’s Day, offering discounts with fun-filled featured sections in an email campaign. The bright colors, lively fonts, and images of delightful treats appeal are designed to trigger engagement. With CTAs that urge customers to take advantage of the discounts and special promotions, this campaign has the perfect Father’s Day vibe.

Personalized photobooks to show appreciation 

Source

This campaign by Photobox, themed around Father’s Day, leverages a unique opportunity to showcase products that connect with the theme and contains suitable offers to maximize customer engagement. The easy-to-understand instructions facilitate product understanding. Likewise, the well-organized sections, helpful content, and CTAs make the email visually appealing and easy to follow.

Summer styles for Father’s Day

Source

This campaign by Lord & Taylor combines two themes -summer and Father’s Day – in a visually compelling email to get readers to shop their collection. The email template’s fun, summery design with bright colors and a magazine-style layout effectively showcases the latest summer styles. The entire email is designed to be bright, informative, and inviting.

Weekend sale for Father’s Day

Source

This weekend sale from swimwear brand Sunuva uses relatable visuals and a straightforward headline to grab the customers’ attention. The promotional code is eye-catching, and the campaign’s overall color scheme and layout capture the essence of summer, enticing readers to make the most of the limited-time offer.

Bundled offers to boost Father’s Day sales 

Premium personal care brand Hawthorne effectively pushes sales through bundled offers themed around Father’s Day. The email campaign features unique product packages for a personalized grooming experience. It also uses gaming to help readers decide the perfect gift for dad. The overall email template is sober, but the messaging is compelling and designed for maximum engagement.

Gifting made convenient

Source

Online gift shop Prezzy Box uses lively graphics, colorful fonts, and minimum copy to attract users and offer a pleasant gift-shopping experience. Their Father’s Day email campaigns focus on the convenience of gifting using their platform. The email template lets users easily browse through the gift categories and make their choices.

Gifts to match your budget

Source

Molton Brown’s Father’s Day email campaign catalogs a series of gift offers catering to various budgets. This makes it easier for sons and daughters to shop for meaningful gifts quickly. The friendly, helpful tone matches the content perfectly while using design, fonts, and layout to optimize the shopping experience.

Gifts that can never go wrong

Source

This campaign by Cometeer, a coffee brand, has a unique headline. The direct message, distinct CTA, and helpful tips on using the product help to boost engagement rate and email click through rate. Overall, the minimalist messaging and straightforward design make an email easy to consume.

Digital gift cards

Source

Wellness brand Prima offers subscribers a unique Father’s Day gift through digital gift cards. The campaign uses minimum copy, with information on how to use the digital gift cards. Furthermore, it upsells the card as a suitable gift for any occasion. The soft color palette and prominent CTAs, combined with a minimalistic design, encourage conversion.

Chocolates – a universal favorite

Source

Chocolatier Thorntons’ unique email campaign for Father’s Day comprises a playful approach to Father’s Day gift. While the header clearly outlines the gifting options, the appealing images and copy draw in the reader with its conversational yet informative tone. 

Classics never go out of style

Source

Wallet maker Pioneer showcases its industry insights to sell its products. The campaign revolves around an exclusive style and a special discount for this uniquely Father’s Day gifting option. The well-balanced layout and good images make for good-quality viewing. The message is simple, and the copy does not dramatize the offer, making it subtly appealing.

Summary

If you want to make this Father’s Day memorable for your customers, email marketing can be a powerful tool. The examples and helpful hints in this blog can help you implement an email marketing campaign that resonates with your subscribers and stands out from the competition.

However, if you’re still feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to reach out to an email marketing expert

We at InboxArmy have extensive experience in even the most niche email campaign management and can help you create a Father’s Day campaign that will captivate your target audience. So contact us today to get started!

With Black Friday & Cyber Monday on the horizon, it can be easy to overlook Thanksgiving email campaigns.

But after creating hundreds of Thanksgiving emails for our clients, we’ve learned that Thanksgiving presents a great opportunity to:

  • Boost sales.
  • Show gratitude to your customers.
  • Create anticipation for Black Friday & Cyber Monday.
  • Build a deeper connection with subscribers by showing a fun, human side of your brand.
  • Generate goodwill by positioning your brand in a positive light.

Most other articles on the subject don’t really help you create great Thanksgiving emails.

They either provide barely useful tips that don’t actually matter – like “include gifs in your email” (don’t get us wrong, gifs are great. But do they really contribute to sales?) – or they just share Thanksgiving email examples without really telling you why they work or how to apply them to your own campaign.

So if you want to deepen your relationship with your audience…

If you want to build some goodwill for your brand…

And if you want to get the absolute maximum holiday revenue possible…

Then apply these 7 Thanksgiving email campaign tactics!

 

At Inbox Army, we help clients conceive, design, code, and deliver Thanksgiving email campaigns that drive significant revenue. If your past campaigns didn’t deliver the results you hoped for, or if you want help maximizing your holiday email marketing revenue, talk with a member of our team to learn how we can improve your results. Get in touch now.

7 Thanksgiving Email Tactics That Actually Move The Needle!

Like with most email and content marketing, the goal with Thanksgiving emails is to provide value to recipients in exchange for the opportunity to promote your business and/or products in some way.

So to create great Thanksgiving emails, start by answering three questions:

  • How can I help my subscribers have a better Thanksgiving?
  • What aspects of my business do I want to promote?
  • How can I combine the two most effectively?

The following 7 tactics will help you answer and utilize those questions in your next Thanksgiving email campaign.

NOTE: Many of these tactics can be combined. So consider brainstorming ideas using each tactic and match the ones that work well together.

1.) Create Organic Promotional Campaigns

The first question you should ask when creating Thanksgiving email campaigns (or campaigns for any other holiday) is: what’s my business, product’s, or service’s relationship to this holiday?

Other holidays – like Black Friday/Cyber Monday – are really just about offering deals and discounts. That’s the whole purpose of the holiday and that’s really all that your audience expects of your emails.

But Thanksgiving presents an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your audience by facilitating their holiday experience, as well as promoting products, deals, and discounts.

And by gaining clarity on your business relationship to the holiday, you can do so in more effective and creative ways.

When we talk about your relationship to the holiday, we mean: are your business, products, and/or services relevant to Thanksgiving or the Thanksgiving season in an organic way? Can they facilitate or improve the Thanksgiving experience for your customers?

If there’s organic relevance, you can create emails that promote your business in terms of how you can improve the holiday experience of your audience. Deals and discounts are great, but organic product promotions work best because they give customers a more compelling and relevant reason to buy.

Uber, for example, knows that many of their customers travel for Thanksgiving and need rides to the airport. So their Thanksgiving email prompts recipients to schedule their rides ahead of time for better organization and prices.

Uber TG Email

Similarly, Postmates’ knows that many of their customers will want to order meals or desserts on Thanksgiving. So they sent out an email that offers a $5 discount and connects with recipients over the common experience of wanting to leave a Thanksgiving party to avoid awkward conversations.

Postmate TG Email

If your business doesn’t have any organic relevance to Thanksgiving, then you’ll need to come up with alternative ways to facilitate the holiday experience and promote your products or send a non-promotional email (both of which we’ll discuss later).

NOTE: If you’re going to create this type of campaign, don’t wait until Thanksgiving to do so. If your aim is to influence sales by promoting how your products can improve the Thanksgiving experience, then shoppers will need to know early so they have time to buy, receive, and use your products on Thanksgiving.

We recommend starting your campaign and sending out emails at least 1-2 weeks in advance. Then remind them again on Thanksgiving Day.

Some of our clients have opted to run “Shopping Week” campaigns that start the week of Thanksgiving and run through Cyber Monday. Others run their campaigns through the entire month of November.

Questions To Ask Yourself:

  • Do my products/services have an organic relationship with Thanksgiving experiences or rituals? Can they facilitate or elevate Thanksgiving in any way?
  • I so, how can I present my products in terms of how they can facilitate my customers’ Thanksgiving experience?
  • How soon should we begin this offer to give customers enough time to take advantage?

2.) Create Non-Organic Themed Promotional Campaigns

If your product/service doesn’t have an organic relationship with Thanksgiving, you can still create promotional campaigns that generate revenue. You just have to give your audience a reason to buy – like a discount.

But don’t just slap together an email announcing a random Thanksgiving Day email with a coupon code. Get in the spirit of the season by creating themed promotional campaigns.

A themed promotional campaign has at least three requirements:

  • It attempts to relate your products to the holiday in any way it can (no matter how tenuous).
  • It presents the campaign using holiday-themed copy.
  • It includes a holiday-themed discount code (if a discount is being offered).

We created a simple but effective Thanksgiving email for our client BOIE. BOIE sells eco-friendly hygiene products, including toothbrushes, face scrubbers, and body scrubbers. The email meets all three requirements by:

  • Connecting BOIE’s toothbrushes with the need to clean your teeth after feasting.
  • Uses themed copy: “Stuff your cart before you stuff your face.”
  • Includes a themed discount code: “Stuffing”

BOIE Thanksgiving 2

No one is going to buy a mattress to improve their Thanksgiving experience. Still, mattress retailer Casper found a way to promote their products by connecting them to an activity many people want to engage in after their Thanksgiving feast – sleeping.

Casper TG Email

Questions To Ask Yourself:

  • What kind of connections can I draw between my product/service and Thanksgiving?
  • How can I present my products in terms of that relationship (copy and discount code)?

3.) Facilitate Thanksgiving In A Non-Promotional Way

And while you may be turned off to the idea of spending time on something that won’t generate revenue, consider two points:

First, never underestimate the power of non-promotional emails. These emails help you deepen your connection to your audience and create positive associations with your brand.

If they haven’t already seen dozens of promotional emails from other brands, your subscribers will soon be bombarded with BF/CM campaigns. Being non-promotional will be a welcome relief and can differentiate your brand from everyone else.

They also show that you’re not just a cold, heartless brand that sees customers as dollar figures – you actually took some time to create an email for their benefit only.

Second, many of the non-promotional emails we’ve created for clients have still generated sales anyway.

Perhaps it’s because of the goodwill and gratitude these emails create. Perhaps the email just reminds customers of products they already wanted to buy. Whatever the reason, non-promotional emails have great, often surprising benefits.

But emails that simply wish subscribers a happy Thanksgiving are boring and uninspired. So try these three non-promotional email ideas instead:

1. The Gratitude/Appreciation Email

Thanksgiving is a holiday devoted to expressing gratitude. And your customers/subscribers are the reason your business exists.

Celebrate the holiday properly by sending them an email expressing your gratitude for their patronage.

You can make gratitude emails even more powerful by:

  • Get specific about what you’re thanking them for.
  • Connecting with recipients over a shared experience.
  • Reminding recipients of the journey you’ve shared together.

Our client Vitamedica is a health supplement retailer. We created a 2020 Thanksgiving email that thanks subscribers for “the trust you place in us” and for “letting us be a part of your journey to better health and wellness.” It connects with them over the shared experience of struggling through the 2020 pandemic. And it uses a quote from Nhat Hanh to connect Vitamedica’s mission of living a healthier life to an “expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos.”

Vitamedica Thanksgiving

Everyone wants to feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves. Brandless’ Thanksgiving email feeds this desire by thanking customers for “living the #brandless life with us every day” and telling them that, with their help, Brandless has donated over 100,000 meals to people facing hunger.

Brandless TG Email

Another way to remind recipients of your shared journey is to create personalized emails that share info about each individual customer’s relationship with your business. This can include:

  • The number of products they bought.
  • The number of hours they’ve used your software.
  • Accomplishments they’ve achieved with your software or service.

One of the biggest benefits of these types of emails is that they can increase customer retention. When customers see the journey you’ve shared and what you’ve accomplished together, they’re more likely to stick around because they’ve already invested so much.

While it’s not a Thanksgiving email, this email from RunKeeper perfectly illustrates this concept.

RunKeeper Stats Email

Questions To Ask Yourself:

  • What specifically can I thank my audience for?
  • What shared experiences (related to my business or otherwise) can I discuss in the email to connect with my audience?
  • How have my customers helped my business? What business accomplishments can I share to remind customers of the journey we’ve shared?
  • What other types of accomplishments or milestones can I share (i.e. products the customer has bought; accomplishments they’ve achieved with your tool(s); length of time they’ve been with you; etc.)

2.) The Storytelling Email

Storytelling is a great way to entertain your audience and capture their attention.

What’s more, our brains are hardwired for stories. So if your aim is to deepen your relationship and create positive associations with your brand, stories are the perfect vehicle for doing so.

With a storytelling email, your goal is to tell a short story that connects the positive emotions and experiences of the holiday to your brand.

You don’t even need to draw direct connections with Thanksgiving and your company/products. You just need to tell a story that relates to customers over their favourite Thanksgiving experiences. Because the email comes from you, customers will subconsciously make the associations themselves.

Artifact Uprising – a company that sells custom, premium-quality photo books and gifts – shares a story designed to help us all appreciate how funny, messy, and quirky our families and Thanksgivings are.

While many people and brands focus on the awkward and uncomfortable aspects of Thanksgiving, Artifact Uprising chooses to help us appreciate our own unique experiences for what they are. Because of this email, recipients are likely to connect Artifact Uprising with the act of appreciation and the aspects of their Thanksgiving experience that they enjoy.

Artifact Uprising TG Email

Questions To Ask Yourself:

  • What Thanksgiving-related themes, experiences, and emotions do I want my audience to associate with my brand?
  • What does my audience love about Thanksgiving?
  • What common Thanksgiving experiences can I write about?
  • How can I tell a short story that encapsulates the three questions above?

3.) The Helpful Email

Another easy, non-promotional way to facilitate Thanksgiving for your audience is to share helpful tips and info.

Your audience will appreciate the fact that you put effort into creating something that helps them rather than trying to make money off them. And if they actually use your tips or info to improve their Thanksgiving experience, that appreciation will increase ten-fold.

To create helpful emails, think about what problems, opportunities, rituals, and activities your audience will encounter on Thanksgiving. Then brainstorm information you can share that can help them better navigate and/or make the most of those situations.

It doesn’t even need to be your original content. You can curate articles from other sources in your email.

The point is to invest time in making their holiday experience better.

Helpful content can include recipes, tips for navigating awkward conversations, dinner convo topics, party games, etc.

Neiman Marcus created a helpful Thanksgiving email by offering 25% off products relevant to Thanksgiving and sharing 6 tips for a stress-free Thanksgiving.

Neiman Marcus TG Email

Questions To Ask Yourself:

  • What problems, opportunities, rituals, and activities will my audience encounter on Thanksgiving?
  • What information can I share that’ll help them resolve or improve any Thanksgiving issues or situations?

4.) Segue To Your Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales

Let’s face it: Black Friday and Cyber Monday are going to be way bigger moneymakers for your business than any Thanksgiving campaign. And your audience is probably more likely to shop on those holidays anyway. So you may want to keep their focus there.
If that’s the route you choose, then you should create a non-promotional email, as described above, that also reminds customers about your looming BFCM sale.

Ideally, you’d create a non-promotional email that facilitates their Thanksgiving experience AND reminds them about BFCM – giving you the best of all three worlds.

You get the goodwill, deeper relationships, and positive brand associations that non-promotional, holiday-facilitating emails can provide.

You won’t overwhelm your audience with too many promotions or too much info.

And you build anticipation that’ll enable you to maximize BFCM weekend revenue.

To accomplish this, simply:

  • Create a non-promotional, holiday-facilitating email campaign.
  • Add a BFCM sale reminder at the beginning or end of the email.

You can keep things simple by just including a bit of copy telling them when Black Friday begins.

BFCM Reminder 1

Or you can make your BFCM promotion more prominent and use tactics like urgency to influence more sales, like this Urban Outfitters email.

[Insert “Urban Outfitters BFCM Email” Image]

Another great tactic to incorporate is to include examples of the products or product categories that’ll be on sale over BFCM weekend, like the Tradesy email below. Doing so gets your audience to start thinking about the products they’ll want to buy.

Tradesy BFCM Reminder

5.) Connect Over Shared Experiences

You can instantly make your emails more relatable by connecting with recipients over common Thanksgiving experiences.

Awkward conversations, getting seated next to someone you’d rather not talk to, the urgent need to sleep after gorging on food – these are things we’ve all experienced on Thanksgiving.

The more specific the experiences and the more resonance they have with an individual recipient, the more the recipient will relate to your email.

And if you can connect those shared experiences to your product or offer, then you’ll create a hyper-effective way to get your message across.

This email by Betterment connects common Thanksgiving conversations to their product in a humorous way where the answer always involves an unnecessary mention of Betterment’s app.

Betterment TG Email

Kate Spade also created a Thanksgiving email that connects with recipients over several common Thanksgiving experiences.

Kate Spade TG Email

Make sure you tailor the experiences that you mention to your audience. For example, young people have different Thanksgiving experiences (awkward convos with uncles, having a Friendsgiving, having to wait through long prayers before eating, etc.) than their grandparents (seeing your grandchildren for the only time all year, asking people to speak up so you can hear them, not knowing anything about the celebrities people are discussing, etc.).

Questions To Ask Yourself:

  • What are some common Thanksgiving experiences that our audience can relate to?
  • Which common experiences are related to our product/offer, or can be connected to it?
  • How can we draw the connection in a humorous or relevant way?

6.) Tap Into The Spirit Of Generosity

Thanksgiving is a holiday about expressing gratitude and being generous. You should tap into that spirit by giving your subscribers something to be thankful for.

There are two ways of incorporating generosity into your emails:
A Gift
Give your subscribers a gift to show them how grateful you are for their support.

Gifts can include discounts, free products, free content, free shipping, free set-up, or anything else they wouldn’t normally get.

If you want to make your gift extra special, give them something you don’t offer any other time but Thanksgiving. Otherwise, it just becomes another promotional campaign.

If you offer a discount, make it a big discount or a discount on products related to Thanksgiving.

You can also gamify these emails by requiring subscribers to do something small in order to redeem the gift – like sharing a link on social or using a special hashtag. This way you both benefit – they get the gift and you get promotional value.

In their Thanksgiving email, London Bridge gives recipients 20% off their next purchase and free shipping

London Bridge TG Email

The Donation Drive
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to run a Donation Drive campaign.

Select a cause or non-profit organization that your audience will like and/or identify with. Then pledge to donate a certain portion of all Thanksgiving Day/Week sales to that cause.

This campaign gives shoppers an extra, morally-righteous incentive to make purchases. You can drive sales while enabling you and your customers to feel good about helping an important cause.

Consider running this campaign for the month of November or Thanksgiving week so shoppers have ample time to make a purchase.

B2B Marketing Exchange, in partnership with the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, ran a Thanksgiving campaign where every ticket purchased to their B2B marketing event provides a meal to a family in need.

B2B Marketing Exchange TG Email

7.) Get The Timing Right

Timing is critical for Thanksgiving email campaigns, especially with BFCM weekend coming the very next day.

Depending upon the tactic you use, you need to give your audience enough time to learn about and take advantage of your campaigns and tactics.

Non-promotional “Happy Thanksgiving” emails and Thanksgiving Day-only sales can be sent out on Thanksgiving Day.

But you have to think about the actual logistics of how your audience will interact with your campaign. We’ve seen many businesses send out emails that promote Thanksgiving products – like food and cooking utensils – on Thanksgiving Day. Even if they were to buy, shoppers wouldn’t receive their purchase until long after Thanksgiving.

So if you’re sending out an email that contains things that facilitate a pleasurable Thanksgiving experience for your audience – whether that be products, tips, or otherwise – then you should send out these emails at least a week or two in advance (or longer depending upon your shipping times).

And remember that people are busy spending time with friends and family on Thanksgiving. So if you’re running a Thanksgiving sale campaign, let them know about it ahead of time so know about it in time and can decide whether to take advantage of it or not.
Maximize Your Holiday Revenue
You now have everything you need to create Thanksgiving campaigns that drive results. Whether those results be to generate more revenue or simply to build your relationship with your audience to boost conversion potential and maximize customer lifetime value.

It’s never too early to start planning and building your campaigns.

Start by determining which type of campaign you want to create – promotional or non-promotional – and determine if you have an organic relationship to the holiday.

Then go through the other tactics and add the other elements that are in line with your goals to maximize the efficacy of your campaign.

At Inbox Army, we help clients conceive, design, code, and deliver Thanksgiving email campaigns that drive significant revenue. If your past campaigns didn’t deliver the results you hoped for, or if you want help maximizing your holiday email marketing revenue, talk with a member of our team to learn how we can improve your results. Get in touch now.

 

When most marketers and businesses think of holiday marketing campaigns, they think of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, etc.

Why?

Because those are generally the biggest shopping holidays and the biggest money-makers.

And because, if you don’t sell costumes or candy, Halloween may not seem like a natural promotional opportunity for your business.

But if you overlook Halloween email campaigns, you do so at your own peril.

Halloween is a fun holiday, even for adults. You can make it more fun for your subscribers by creating exciting Halloween emails that offer enticing deals.

And you can make it more fun for yourself by applying these Halloween email marketing tips and creating engaging, revenue-boosting emails!

At Inbox Army, we help clients conceive, design, code, and deliver holiday email campaigns that drive significant revenue. If your past campaigns didn’t deliver the results you hoped for, or if you want help maximizing your holiday email marketing revenue, talk with a member of our team to learn how we can improve your results. Get in touch now.

 

First Things First: The Fundamentals!

Halloween is a unique holiday.

And while your Halloween emails should be unique, they must also follow the same fundamental rules as any other holiday email campaign, including:

Offer An Enticing Treat

Some holiday email campaigns don’t offer any discounts or incentives. They just aim to be a fun way to connect with subscribers and remind them of the value of your product/service.

That’s all good and well. But if you aim to drive real revenue with your Halloween campaign, then you’ll need to include an enticing incentive and give subscribers a reason to shop.

Incentives include:

  • Discounts
  • Free shipping
  • Free set-up
  • Free trials
  • BOGO
  • Free gifts (t-shirt, tote bag, etc.)

Incentives are especially important for Halloween campaigns because it’s not traditionally viewed as a shopping holiday. You need to give subscribers an extra reason to shop – something they won’t want to miss out on.

Tap Into The Spirit Of The Season

It should go without saying that your Halloween email campaigns should be fun and have a Halloween theme.

It SHOULD go without saying, but many people – including some of our clients – create holiday emails that merely promote their sales and/or products without much effort towards incorporating the holiday spirit.

But getting into the spirit of the season isn’t just a cheap marketing ploy, it makes your emails more effective.

Doing so creates a sense of fun that gets people into your emails. It also shows a human side to your brand and helps you connect with your audience.

Think back to your favourite shows as a kid – like the Simpsons. Didn’t you get excited about their Halloween-themed episodes? Think of your Halloween emails the same way.

Use Traditional Email Marketing Tactics

We’re going to discuss Halloween-specific tactics that’ll make your emails more effective in the next section.

But those tactics should be combined with traditional email marketing tactics that are known to boost open rates and conversions.

Some of the top tactics you should employ include:

Put Recipients In The Right Frame Of Mind

The goal of any email is to put recipients into an emotional state that compels them to buy your product or service.

Essentially, you want to get them thinking about the pain point your product solves (or the goal it helps them achieve) and what life will be like once they’ve purchased your product and solved it.

You can accomplish this by:

  • Sharing images of your product being used to solve the pain point.
  • Sharing images that show what your customer’s life will be like once they’ve purchased your product.
  • Use copy that describes the problem in words that your customers use.
  • Use copy that describes what life will be like once they’ve purchased your product.

There are many ways to put recipients in the right frame of mind. In this email we created for our client BOIE, we used images showing their body scrubber in action and language that describes how it is “easy to hold and manoeuvre”, “gentle on skin,” and provides “gentle exfoliation.”

BOIE

Create Urgency

Creating a sense of urgency is a great way to influence recipients to act now.

Subscribers know that your holiday deals won’t last forever, and they don’t want to miss out. Your goal is to intensify their FOMO and make it overt.

You can create urgency by:

  • Add a countdown timer to your email.
  • Using urgent language like “Before time runs out!” and “Act fast!”

In this email we created for our client Vitamedica, we created urgency by using a countdown timer and telling recipients that this was their “Last Chance!”

Vitamedica

Reduce Friction

To maximize the number of conversions, you need to make it as easy as possible for recipients to convert. This is why, in every email, you must reduce as much friction as possible.

One of the simplest ways to reduce friction is by handling objections.

Objections are common issues that make your shoppers hesitate before making a purchase. They may be worried that if they purchase your product they’ll be stuck with it even if they don’t like it (this is especially true if your product is expensive). You can handle this objection by sharing your warranty/return policies.

In this Black Friday email we created for Vitamedica, we handled objections at the bottom of the email by sharing their 60-day money-back guarantee and “excellent customer ratings.”

Vitamedica 2

Optimize For Mobile

It’s 2021 and many customers are shopping on mobile devices. If your emails don’t render properly on mobile, then they won’t even read your email, much less make a purchase.

While there are many aspects to optimizing for mobile, three of the easiest include:

  • Using mobile-responsive templates.
  • Providing a “View In Browser” link.
  • Testing your emails before sending.

7 Revenue-boosting Halloween Email Campaign Tactics

Now on to the main event.

In addition to traditional email marketing tactics, you should employ these Halloween-specific tactics to get the most from your campaigns.

1.) Use Halloween-Themed Language

As stated earlier, getting into the spirit of the season makes your emails more fun, shows a human side to your brand and helps you connect with your audience.

Your emails should tap into the spirit of Halloween by combining elements of your brand/product with Halloween-themed language.

You don’t have to be a poet. A little effort here goes a long way.

Our client BOIE sells optimized personal hygiene products like face scrubbers, body scrubbers, and toothbrushes. We incorporated simple Halloween-themed language into their emails in two ways:

  • We combined the word “boo” with their brand name to create the discount code “BOOOIE.”
  • We invited recipients to buy BOIE products and “Banish creepy crawly germs for good.”

BOIE Halloween

2.) Use Halloween Style Fonts

Another low-hanging fruit way to make your Halloween emails more fun is to use Halloween-style fonts.

Halloween fonts are fun and tap into the recipient’s nostalgia about Halloween in their childhood.

But use Halloween fonts sparingly in your emails, as they can be harder to read. A good rule of thumb is to use Halloween fonts for headers and big text, but use simpler fonts for product descriptions and copy that explains the specifics of your sale.

Dunkin’ Donuts does this well by using a Halloween font in their header and regular font to explain their offers.

Dunkin' Donuts Halloween

3.) Use Halloween-Themed Product Descriptions

Whether you’re sharing product descriptions or your value proposition, it’s possible – with a little creativity – to create descriptions that put recipients into the right frame of mind and tap into the spirit of Halloween.

To do so, you simply need to combine the benefits of your product/service with concepts that are traditionally associated with Halloween, horror, the supernatural, etc.

In this email we created for Boie, we created several Halloween-themed product descriptions:

  • We described loofahs and washcloths as “the stuff of nightmares” and how Boie’s body scrubber would “protect you from things that grow in the night.”
  • We described how BOIE’s face scrubber “exfoliates without harsh scrubbing, so you’ve got nothing to be scared of.”
  • To promote their toothbrushes, we joked about how “Dracula just had gum erosion.”

They’re corny jokes. But they’re fun and humanize BOIE’s brand.

BOO-IE

4.) Share Halloween-Specific Product Recommendations

If you don’t sell any products that are relevant to Halloween, then you should turn to tip #2 and create product descriptions that make your product more relevant to the holiday.

But if you do have products that relate to Halloween – and you can be creative in how you make this connection – then you should share those products in your emails.

Sharing themed product descriptions accomplishes two goals simultaneously:

  • It reduces friction, as you’re making it easier for shoppers to find relevant products.
  • It provides value, as you’re sharing products that help subscribers enjoy Halloween more.

Airbnb accomplishes this by sharing “frightfully fun places to stay” and “haunted homes for the daring.”

Crate & Barrel shares fun products shoppers can use to make Halloween treats and decorations.

Spooky-stats

5.) Use Halloween-Themed Images

Another easy way to make your Halloween emails more fun is to include Halloween-themed images.

Witches, zombies, ghosts, spiders, pumpkins, etc. Anything that relates to Halloween or horror is fair game.

While any type of Halloween-themed image works, the more relevant they are to your products, the better. In fact, try to think of ways you can combine your products with Halloween/horror elements.

In this email for BOIE, we included an image of a witch riding BOIE’s toothbrush instead of a broom.

Code BOOOIE

While you can always keep things simple, you can also use images in more creative ways that help you sell products.

For an example of advanced Halloween imagery use, we turn to Framebridge.

Framebridge sells custom picture frames and art frames. Their Halloween email taps into the very reason we take pictures – to immortalize the best moments in our lives.

Their email includes an image of kids in Halloween-themed pyjamas watching the Haloween classic Hocus Pocus. It taps into a parent’s desire to capture the best moments of their kid’s childhood, as well as everyone’s desire to relive the best moments of their own childhood.

Framebridge

6.) Match Your Imagery & Copy To Your Audience

Don’t just create a generic Halloween email. Put in a bit more effort by matching your imagery and copy to your audience.

Catering to your audience ensures that recipients find your email content relevant and connect to it more.

Brands that cater to children or general audiences should keep their imagery and copy more PG to appeal to their audience and avoid offending anyone. Alexa & Alexa, an eCommerce company that sells children’s clothing, keep their imagery and content family-friendly and shares fun Halloween-themed outfits.

Alexandalexa

Brands that cater to more adult audiences can, and should, go with darker, more adult-themed imagery and copy. Jack Threads, a company that sells clothes and shoes to adult men, included an image of a pumpkin vomiting with beer cans around it.

Jack

While Asos sells both men’s and women’s clothing, they created a segmented email that caters to their teen female audience in both copy and product suggestions.

ASOS

7.) Add Some Creative Gamification

A clever way to boost engagement is to gamify your emails and your offers with a Halloween theme.

Put simply, turn your offer into a fun game that intrigues your subscribers.

The easiest way to add some Halloween-themed gamification is by incorporating an element of mystery to your offer, as demonstrated by this J. Crew email. It invites shoppers to stop by their store for a “mystery sale surprise.”

J.Crew Factory

New Look goes a step further by prompting customers to choose between a trick and a treat. The mystery alone is enough to get many recipients to click just to find out what each is, which is a great way to get more attention to their sales.

New Look

The Best Halloween Email Subject Line Tactics

There are many subject line tactics and most of the work. But the trick is to use the right subject line tactics for a specific email.

Every email has inherent emotions and themes associated with it. These themes come from the email content as well as the context in which the email is being sent.

Black Friday emails, for example, are centred around the huge discounts and the limited time recipients have to act to take advantage of them. Subject lines that create urgency, FOMO, and exclusivity work best for these emails.

Halloween emails, however, are centred around the sale you’re offering, as well as themes associated with the holiday itself. Subject lines that create urgency, curiosity (mystery), and value work best with these emails.

The Urgency Subject Line Tactic

Since you’re likely to be offering a discount on your products, subject lines that create urgency are great for increasing open rates.

The key to creating urgency is by:

  • Telling recipients about the discount (or hinting at how big it is)
  • Telling recipients about the limited nature of the sale (by telling them how soon it ends or how quickly supplies run out)

The goal is to communicate the fact that your email represents an opportunity that won’t last and requires immediate action.

Urgency Subject Line Examples

  • 20% off sale ends tonight at midnight!
  • Last chance! 30% off all shoes and dresses!
  • 15% off all bikes while supplies last!
  • HUGE sale! Small window. Shop NOW!
  • It’s scary how big this sale is… and how fast supplies are running out!

The Mystery/Curiosity Subject Line Tactic

Since Halloween is heavily associated with mystery, incorporating it in your subject line is on-brand. It’s also a great way to generate curiosity about your offer.

To create curiosity, simply hint at the contents of your email without telling recipients specifically what’s in it.

Mystery/Curiosity Subject Lines:

  • Have the spookiest Halloween with these scary decorations!
  • Be the most popular house on the block with these Halloween candies!
  • This sale is the sweetest treat you’ll get this year.
  • Something wicked this way comes…
  • No trick. Treat yourself to this huge sale!

The Straightforward Subject Line Tactic

Let’s be honest – the sale is the workhorse of holiday emails. It does most of the heavy lifting regarding getting recipients to open the email and buy your products.

So getting cutesy with your subject line isn’t always necessary. Sometimes, you just need to be straightforward and share the specifics of your offer.

Straightforward Subject Lines:

  • 20% off all shoes this Halloween weekend.
  • 15% off + free shipping now through Halloween.
  • Halloween Sale: 30% off + free shipping!
  • Your favourite dresses are now 10% off. Today only!
  • All week: 20% off everything + free shipping on orders $50+

The Value-Oriented Subject Line Tactic

Value-oriented subject lines aim to get recipients to open your email based on the value of what’s inside.

There are two types of value to focus on:

  • The value of your sale
  • How the products you’re selling can add value to recipients’ lives.

To create these subject lines, merely share the value of the sale and/or how the products inside can improve the recipient’s life.

Value-Oriented Subject Lines:

  • Be the scariest house on the block with these spooky decorations!
  • Create a Halloween your kids will never forget! + 20% off everything!
  • Win the best costume with these Halloween outfits (up to 30% off)!
  • The perfect drinks for your Halloween party are on sale now!
  • Halloween isn’t complete without these delectable treats!

Make This Halloween Season A Treat!

If you’ve read other articles about Halloween email campaigns, you were probably left a bit dizzy and unsure where to begin.

That’s because there are many tactics you can use on your Halloween emails – but most are just unnecessary tricks.

That’s why we put together this list of the tactics and strategies that actually have a significant impact on the efficacy of your Halloween email campaigns. So you won’t have to waste time with useless gambits. So you’ll know what to focus on.

With these tactics, you’ll be able to create campaigns that tap into the spirit of the season, connect with your audience, and influence conversions.

The 2021 Holiday Season is fast approaching. Don’t waste any more time. Apply the tactics listed above and make this Halloween season a treat!

At Inbox Army, we help clients conceive, design, code, and deliver holiday email campaigns that drive significant revenue. If your past campaigns didn’t deliver the results you hoped for, or if you want help maximizing your holiday email marketing revenue, talk with a member of our team to learn how we can improve your results. Get in touch now.

 

2020 Cyber Monday sales reached $10.8 billion, up from $9.4 billion the previous year. That happened despite the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each year, Cyber Monday earnings outpace the previous year. The reason is not only because shoppers are spending more, but because companies are becoming better at maximizing earnings.

Each Cyber Monday brings with it data on what email marketing tactics move the needle and effectively convert customers.

If you want to get the most out of your Cyber Monday email marketing campaigns, you’ll need to learn and deploy those tactics to maximize earnings.

This is why we put this article together. We’ll share the top 10 Cyber Monday emails we’ve found, why they’re so effective, and how you can employ these tactics in your upcoming campaigns.

We picked these emails not only because we believe they demonstrate the most effective tactics, but also because of how each of those tactics works together to create powerful emails.

So read on to discover the tactics you’ll need to maximize your campaigns!

Note: If you want a straight-up guide to creating effective Cyber Monday/Black Friday emails, check out our article Top 10 Black Friday Email Tactics (+ Subject Lines & Examples).

1.) Vitamedica – Urgency & Friction Reduction
Vitamedica - Dietary Supplement Company

Vitamedica is a dietary supplement company that formulates, manufactures, and distributes high-quality supplements for surgery, recovery, skincare, beauty, and general health and wellness.

While they started off selling exclusively to wholesale customers (plastic surgeons, dermatologists, med spas, aestheticians, etc.), they began selling to retail customers in 2012 and hired us in 2018 to increase B2C email-driven revenue.

We were able to double email-driven revenue with emails like this which uses urgency to tap into the customer’s FOMO and compel them to act fast while also handling objections to reduce friction and make taking action as easy as possible.

Uses Urgency To Increase Sales

The email utilizes design elements and copies to create a sense of urgency that compels customers to act immediately.

The countdown timer at the top tells customers how much time they have to take advantage of the sale. As it gets lower, the subscribers FOMO increases.

It also uses copies like “Last Chance” and “Sale ends today at 9 pm PST” to escalate the tension.

Uses Tiered Discounts To Compel More Sales

Vitamedica’s Cyber Monday sale uses tiered discounts to compel customers to spend more money. The email dedicates a substantial amount of real estate to informing customers about the tiered discount savings and the rules behind them.

Using a tiered discount strategy creates another form of urgency. Customers know they can save more by spending more. So they’re likely to buy more products than usual and stock up on supplies so they can save in the long run.

Uses Contrast To Highlight Key Elements

By using different colour fonts and backgrounds, the email draws the readers’ attention to important elements.

The email uses bright, contrasting colours against a dark blue background to highlight the tiered discounts and how much customers must spend to access each savings tier.

It also draws attention to the CTA by making it white against a dark blue background.

Uses Objection Handling To Reduce Friction

While customers may want to spend more to save more, they might also be reluctant to buy in large quantities.

They may be thinking: what if I don’t like the products I buy? What if the products don’t deliver what they promise? Then I’m out more money and stuck with products I won’t use.

The email uses objection handling to eliminate these worries. It informs customers of Vitamedica’s 60-day money-back guarantee (plenty of time to test out their purchase). It also informs customers of Vitamedica’s “excellent customer ratings” and “quality you can trust.”

Conveys All Necessary Information

The most important goal of any holiday email is to give subscribers all the information they need to take advantage of your holiday promotion.

Vitamedica’s email accomplishes that by informing subscribers of the duration of the sale, when it ends, how much they can save, and how to access each savings tier.

2.) Dollar Shave Club – Humor & Intrigue
Dollar Shave Club - eCommerce Company

Dollar Shave Club is an eCommerce company that sells men’s grooming products for hair, beard, and more.

Their Cyber Monday email uses simplicity and a single-column layout to keep the focus on their products and the discount they’re offering. It also incorporates fun through humour and intrigue to make the customer’s shopping experience enjoyable.

Shares Product Suggestions To Entice Customers

The email shares several discounted product bundles shoppers might be interested in.

Customers may not know which of your products they want to buy. But by including product suggestions, DSC gets customers to start thinking about their products and how those products will improve lives.

Sharing product suggestions also reduces friction by helping customers make a decision quicker and easier. This is especially important if your sale only applies to certain products. Don’t force customers to spend time searching for applicable products; put them right in their faces.

Uses Humor To Connect With Audience

The email promises to help shoppers shed their Thanksgiving weight and burn calories by shopping. At the bottom, it tells customers that burning off the calories from one pumpkin pie requires 300 clicks. The email humorously implies that the more customers shop, the more weight they’ll lose.

Humorous copy helps DSC build a connection with their audience. It not only builds a relationship with the audience, but it also penetrates their commercial defences (their resistance to being sold anything) by making them laugh. In doing so, they make their marketing messages more potent.

Includes Intriguing Offers

The email invites customers to purchase DSC’s “Mini Mystery Box,” which contains 4 trial-size body products.

The Mini Mystery Box gives shoppers an inexpensive way to explore some DSC products to see what they like. And customers are likely to be intrigued by the mystery of which products they’re going to receive. After all, who doesn’t like surprises?

Single-Column Layout

The email utilizes a single-column layout to guide readers down the email while enabling them to focus on each product/element one at a time. In doing so, they keep the focus on the offers they’re sharing and help readers consider each one to find the best option for them.

3.) BOIE – Simplicity and Value Proposition

Cyber Monday Emails

BOIE is another one of our eCommerce clients that sell 3 sustainable skincare and oral care products – a toothbrush, body scrubber, and face scrubber.

They hired us in 2018 to grow their email list and increase email-driven revenue. Using emails like this, we were able to increase revenue by 77%.

Since they only sell a few products, we decided to keep the email simple by focusing on their sale and value proposition.

Uses Simplicity To Control Focus

Because the email design is so simple, we didn’t need to employ many techniques to control the reader’s attention.

They’re able to easily focus on the 4 primary elements of the email – the FOMO, sale information, product images, and value proposition.

Uses FOMO To Compel Action

The email taps into shoppers’ FOMO by immediately telling them that this is BOIE’s last sale of the year. If they want to get BOIE’s products at a discounted price, that’ll be their last chance for a while.

By tapping into their FOMO, the email creates a sense of urgency that influences them to take immediate action.
Shares Product Images To Entice Customers
Much like Dollar Shave Club’s product suggestions, BOIE’s product images get customers thinking about BOIE’s products and what life will be like when they buy them.

These images work with the FOMO to increase their desire to get BOIE products now.

Shares Value Proposition To Entice Customers

BOIE’s primary value proposition is that its grooming products are more hygienic and sustainable than others. The email shares this value proposition by inviting customers to learn more about it.

By sharing their value proposition, we made BOIE’s products more attractive to customers. This works with the FOMO and product images to make the offer more compelling.

Conveys All Necessary Info

The other email elements work together to make the offer as attractive as possible. It also shares all the information they need to take advantage of the offer, including the discount amount, date, and code.

4.) Dr Martens – Special Offers and Urgency

Dr Martens - eCommerce Company

Dr Martens is an eCommerce and brick-and-mortar retailer that sells footwear, clothing, bags, and accessories.

Their Cyber Monday email combines special offers that entice customers with an urgency that influences them to take action.

Tantalizes With Special Offers

The email contains several attractive special offers.

First, the sale itself is pretty significant – shoppers can get 30% off clothing, bags, and accessories. They’re also told they can get up to 60% off other clearance items. The potential for huge savings compels shoppers to visit the site to find out what they can get and how much they can save.

The email also entices them with a sneak preview of Dr Marten’s new season of footwear: Splash Mono. The exclusivity and intrigue of this offer give shoppers another reason to visit the site.

Uses Urgency To Compel Action

The email uses urgency to compel shoppers to take advantage of these special offers before time runs out.

The countdown timer at the top of the email lets them know just how much time is left on the sale. And the copy that says “Today Only” lets them know that the sale is truly limited to Cyber Monday only.

Uses Content Hierarchy To Control Focus

While the other special offers up the ante for customers, the main focus of the email is the Cyber Monday sale.

The email uses content hierarchy to keep the focus on the sale by making the text bigger than anything else in the email.

5.) Herschel Supply Co.

Herschel Supply Co. - Cyber Monday Emails

Herschel Supply Co. is an eCommerce company that sells bags and accessories for men, women, and kids.

Their Cyber Monday email uses simplicity and design to ensure recipients get all the necessary info about their sales and take action immediately.

Uses Simplicity To Maintain Focus

The email focuses entirely on the Cyber Monday sale. Its aim is to share all the necessary info about the sale’s tiered discounts with no distractions.

After reading the email, recipients will know when the sale takes place and how much they need to spend to get each discount tier. It includes just one CTA to keep them focused on taking the action Herschel Supply Co. wants them to take – shop on their site.

Uses Z-Layout To Draw Recipients Through The Email

The email is designed using a Z-layout which guides recipients down the email and gets them to focus on each piece of information individually.

This is especially important because each discount tier requires shoppers to use a different discount code to access the savings. By drawing them down the email and controlling their focus, they ensure recipients don’t overlook important information.

Uses White Space To Control Focus

Much like the Z-layout, the email’s use of white space (or black space) enables recipients to focus on each piece of information individually with no distractions. This ensures readers get all the information they need to take advantage of the sale.

6.) Good F****** Design Advice

GFDA - Consulting Company

GFDA is a consulting company that performs workshops that help creatives and entrepreneurs take risks and grow their businesses. They also sell apparel, drinkware, and other fun products on their site.

Their Cyber Monday email uses creative design, humour, and branding to connect with recipients so they’re better able to influence them to take action.

Uses Crossouts To Compel Recipients To Read

We bet you read every word of the crossed-out text, didn’t you. That’s because the mystery of what it says is too compelling to ignore.

By crossing out the text GFDA is able to grab the recipient’s attention and curiosity and get them to read the entire email. The only text that’s not crossed out is the information about their Cyber Monday sale.

Uses Humor To Connect With Recipients

The email uses a funny story about Black Friday shoppers and coarse language to build a connection with recipients.

Humour is an effective tool because it gets your audience to like you more and lowers their guard. When people like you and lower their commercial defences (their aversion to being sold or convinced to do something), they’re more likely to be influenced to take action.

Uses Language to Build A Brand Connection

The email uses coarse, funny language to get audiences to connect with their brand.

GFDA is not a company that uses dry, sanitized language to avoid offending people. Their controversial tone and style is another tactic that gets people to lower their commercial defences because they know GFDA is being authentic and not misrepresenting themselves to make a sale. Recipients who share this attitude are much more likely to feel a kinship with their brand.

Conveys All Necessary Info

The email tells recipients everything they need to know to take advantage of the sale. After reading, they’ll know when the sale begins, how much they can save, and how much they need to spend to get free shipping.

7.) Funky Pigeon

Funky Pigeon - eCommerce Company

Funky Pigeon is an eCommerce company that sells cards, mugs, calendars, notebooks and more.

Their email uses urgency and product suggestions to compel readers to take advantage of their sales.

Uses Urgency To Compel Action

The email includes a countdown timer at the top that tells recipients when the sale ends. By creating a sense of urgency, they compel recipients to take immediate action or miss out on the opportunity.

Highlights Applicable Product Categories To Reduce Friction

Funky Pigeons Cyber Monday sale only applies to specific product categories. Sharing those categories in their email eliminates the friction and guesswork that may stop recipients from taking advantage of their sales.

8.) Gemvara

Gemvara - eCommerce Company

Gemvara is an eCommerce company that sells custom fine jewellery.

They sent this email announcing the extension of their Cyber Monday sale to people who abandoned their carts. It uses objection handling, segmentation, and educational content to make it as easy as possible for them to convert.

Uses Segmentation To Boost Conversions

This email was sent to browse and cart abandoners only the day after Cyber Monday. It aims to convert these people by handling objections and educational content that helps them make a decision.

By focusing on those more likely to convert, Gemvara is able to squeeze more revenue from their Cyber Monday sale.

Adds Value Through Educational Content

The email aims to resolve the friction that prevented cart and browse abandoners from making a purchase.

Many of these people likely abandoned their carts because they didn’t know what to buy. So Gemvara helps them out by sharing a gift guide to help them make a decision. They even offer help from a jewellery consultant.

Handles Objections & Reduces Friction

The email addresses other objections that may have prevented recipients from completing their purchase. It informs them of Gemvara’s 101-day return policy, free shipping policy, and free financing policy.

The email also shares a link to luxury jewellery products under $500, in case price was an issue preventing conversions.

9.) Man Outfitters

Man Outfitters - eCommerce Company
Man Outfitters is an eCommerce company that sells men’s active outdoor lifestyle apparel.

They created a unique and helpful Cyber Monday email that uses friction reduction and customer-focused copy to help recipients take advantage of their holiday sales.

Uses Differentiation To Stand Out

Their email is unlike others. Rather than focus on one upcoming holiday, they’ve created a guide to all of their upcoming holiday sales. It gives recipients everything they need to know to take advantage of Man Outfitter’s holiday sales.

Reduces Friction With Education

The email aims to help recipients take advantage of Man Outfitter’s holiday sales and make the right purchase decisions. It informs recipients of their upcoming holiday sales, their return policies, and the dates customers should order to receive their products on time for holidays.

By helping customers make the right decision, Man Outfitters reduces friction that may prevent them from buying and established a positive relationship with them.

Uses Customer-Focused Copy To Build A Connection

The entire email is focused on the customer and helping them make the right decision. It even tells them about “Deal Week” and how they won’t attempt to pressure shoppers with fake deadlines or tricks to create “artificial chaos.”

By focusing on the customer, Man Outfitters builds a strong connection with customers and makes their purchase decision as easy as possible.

10.) Standard Strange

Standard Strange - eCommerce Company

Standard Strange is an eCommerce company that sells clothing and footwear. They aim to help customers “own fewer, better things.”

Their Cyber Monday email is one of the most unique on this list. It connects to its audience’s sense of identity and uses urgency and creativity to influence sales.

Uses Differentiation To Stand Out

Standard Strange’s email is one of the most unique Cyber Monday emails anyone is likely to see. It’s designed in a text-only format which makes it look cool and compelling (it also ensures there are no rendering issues).

Rather than using sales copy, the poem shares a haiku that recipients are likely to enjoy. This kind of creativity and fun probably helps them connect with recipients and influence conversions.

Uses Urgency To Compel Immediate Action

The email creates a unique sense of urgency.

Rather than a countdown timer or deadline, it shows that shoppers who buy sooner can save more. Shoppers who buy on Thursday can save 26%. But by Monday, the savings drop to 10%. This compels shoppers to buy early so they can save more.

Connects To Audience Identity

The email connects to the identity of its audience through its unique, artistic format and copy. The bottom of the email says “this email is for fashion plates, MUDD enthusiasts, and poetry healers.” It invites “poetry haters and other grouches” to unsubscriber from their email.

By defining who is in and outside of their tribe, Standard Strange creates a sense of shared identity that builds a stronger relationship with their audience.

Black Friday is one of the most important holidays of the year for businesses – especially eCommerce businesses.

Shoppers are looking for enticing sales, and are willing to spend more money than they would otherwise.

But if you really want to reap the rewards of Black Friday email marketing, then you’ll need to do it right.

Most articles on Black Friday emails discuss frivolous Black Friday tactics. They tell you things like “include gifs in your emails” as if that seriously moves the needle.

We decided to create a Black Friday email marketing guide that shares tactics and techniques that actually matter and help you maximize Black Friday revenue.

In this guide, we’ll discuss:

  • The most important emotions to tap into to convince customers to buy (hint: urgency, FOMO, etc.)
  • The most important email marketing tactics to deploy in order to maximize conversions.
  • The key subject line tactics that boost open rates.

And we’ll share examples of emails – from our clients and top businesses – that illustrate each tactic.

So read on to learn how to create effective, revenue-boosting Black Friday emails.

Black Friday Email Campaign Tactics

Your subscribers will be bombarded with Black Friday emails from every company under the sun. Use the following tactics to ensure they spend their money with yours:

1.) Plan and Promote Early

Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. And it’s one of your business’s best revenue-generating opportunities.

Proper planning is the key to optimizing your earnings.

Don’t procrastinate. Plan your Black Friday sale and email campaigns at least 3 months in advance so you’ll have all your ducks in a row.

More importantly, don’t wait until Black Friday or the day before to inform customers about your sales.

You’ll be vying for space and attention in their crowded inbox. So make sure they know what you’re offering by sending emails ahead of time.

Start sending reminder emails as early as late October to build anticipation.

You’re more likely to get attention by sending out emails on weekends since people are home and have more time to read emails and browse online. Consider sending out one email every weekend leading up to Black Friday.

You might also consider offering early access campaigns.

2.) Put Subscribers In The Right Frame Of Mind

The two most important factors for convincing people to buy your products on Black Friday are:

  • An enticing sale/offer.
  • Putting shoppers in the right frame of mind.

Putting shoppers in the right frame of mind means putting them in an emotional state that makes them need your product.

The goal is to connect to the pain point or goal your product helps resolve and get shoppers thinking about how great life will be once they have your product.

To do so, you must use images and copy.

Images:
Use images that show your product being used and/or in a context that creates positive associations.

Doing so gets recipients thinking about using your product(s), the benefits of your product(s), and what life will be like once they’ve purchased your product(s).

We created the email below for our client Boie. While it isn’t a Black Friday email, it illustrates this concept perfectly. The images show Boie’s body scrubber being used as it’s supposed to, which helps recipients visualize using the product themselves and puts them in the right frame of mind.

 

Boi Product Images

Copy:
Your copy should work with images to tap into your customer’s emotional states by:

  • Describing your customers’ pain points using words and phrases they use.
  • Painting a picture of how great things will be after they buy and use your product.

3.) Share The Fundamentals

The primary goal of your Black Friday email campaigns is to communicate the fundamental information about your sale.

As we’ve stated, the sale itself will do most of the heavy lifting. So it’s critical that customers understand the basics of what you’re offering.

Your email must include:

  • The discount amount
  • The date of the sale
  • The parameters of the sale (what products it applies to; how much customers must spend to unlock the sale; etc.)
  • Any other important information they’ll need (i.e. discount code; directions)
  • Any bonuses (i.e. free shipping; free set-up; return policy; etc.)

We created the email below for our client BOIE. The central focus of the email is clear – communicating the necessary Black Friday sale information.

The email provides:

  • The sale date: The Black Friday sale is ongoing.
  • The sale amount: 25%
  • The applicable products: All purchases.
  • The discount code: GIFTCLEAN

Boie extension

4.) Include Product Suggestions To Give Them Ideas

It’s always a good idea to include product suggestions in your Black Friday emails.

Product suggestions help reduce friction. Shoppers won’t have to spend time searching your website for great products because you’re putting the products right in their faces.

Product suggestions also get subscribers thinking about your products and put them in the right frame of mind. The more you can help subscribers visualize how awesome life will be once they have your products, the more you’ll be able to convert them.

If your sale only applies to certain products in your store, then you’ll definitely want to include product suggestions or applicable product categories in your email. Don’t force shoppers to search and guess – make it as easy on them as possible.

Consider sharing your bestsellers. Or use subscriber data to share micro-targeted products they’re likely to be interested in.

In the Black Friday email we created for mattress retailer Purple, we included product categories to get recipients thinking about which type of mattress they wanted.

Purple Black Friday

5.) Use Urgency/FOMO

Black Friday presents an opportunity for shoppers to get the products they want most at a significant discount.

But the opportunity won’t last forever… and shoppers know that.

This is why your emails should tap into their sense of urgency and their fear of missing out on great deals.

These emotions are already running through shoppers’ minds. Your goal is to intensify their fear by making it more overt. When shoppers feel strong anxiety about the prospect of missing out on a deal, they’re more likely to act.

Your subject lines, email copy, and images should include elements that tap into shoppers’ sense of urgency, like:

  • Countdown timers
  • Product stock counter (tracking how much stock is left)
  • Copy reminding them of when the sale ends.
  • “Only two2 days left!”
  • “Sale ends tomorrow!”
  • “Last chance!”
  • Copy informing them of the scarcity of supplies.
  • “Supplies are running out fast!”
  • “Get it while supplies last!”
  • “Selling out quickly!”
  • The Active language provokes immediate action.
  • “Act now!”
  • “Act fast!”
  • “Get yours today!”
  • Let them know that this is the biggest sale of the year (only if validate).
  • “Our biggest sale of the year!”
  • “Lowest prices of the year!”

This email we created for our health supplement client Vitamedica demonstrated compelling effective use of urgency in a holiday email (though it’s for Cyber Monday, which is essentially the same holiday).

It uses a countdown timer and copy (“Last Chance” and “Sale ends at 9pm PST”) to bring the recipients attention to the approaching deadline and create urgency.

Vitamedica Cyber Monday

6.) Reduce Friction w/ Objection Handling

Even if shoppers really want your product and are enticed by your Black Friday sale, they still might withhold from buying.

There are a host of objections that cause customers to pause, procrastinate, and abandon sales.

Many shoppers have come to expect free shipping on Black Friday. If you offer free shipping, then make it known in your emails. Otherwise, shoppers might withhold.

Some shoppers are worried that they will be stuck with a product they don’t like after they buy it. Or that the product might break quickly. Do you offer a return policy? A warranty plan? Make sure your email informs customers of these policies and their guidelines.

Your job is to figure out what common objections your customers face with regard to your products and address them in your emails.

The easiest way to find out is to interview your existing customers and shoppers who abandon their carts. Identify the most common reasons for abandonment and address them in your promotional emails.

Some objection handlers require prominent placement. Since free shipping is so important to many Black Friday shoppers, you may want to mention it in your Subject Line and display it prominently in your email.

Other objection handlers can be addressed in less obtrusive ways so your emails can avoid clutter, focus on promoting the sale, and tap into subscribers emotions.

Quip’s Black Friday email handles objections by sharing their free shipping, return, and warranty policies at the bottom of the email.

Quip Black Friday

7.) Extend Through The Weekend

Many shoppers want to take advantage of your deals, but they get distracted by life or other attractive shopping opportunities.

This is why you should extend your Black Friday sale through the weekend to give shoppers more time to make a decision.

This isn’t just a theory. We’ve done this with many of our clients and increased their Black Friday revenue significantly.

The key to doing this right is to make the extension a surprise. Don’t tell shoppers you’re extending the sale right away so you can still capitalize on the urgency created by the 11:59 pm Friday deadline.

Then send an email Saturday morning informing them that the sale is extended. And send another email on Sunday telling them that time is once again running out.

These emails don’t need to be complex. Just inform them that the sale is extended and tell them how to take advantage – as we did with Boie.

Boie Extension

8.) Send 2 Emails/Day On Black Friday Weekend

Lots of businesses send Black Friday emails in the morning to inform customers early and give them the most time to make a purchase.

This is sound logic, but it also leaves a problem unresolved.

While some subscribers will make a purchase right away, others will put it off for later while they consider other offers or until they have some free time.

Many of those subscribers won’t return to make a purchase for one simple reason – they forgot.

Maybe they get lost in the events of their personal lives. Maybe they get distracted by other sales. Maybe they lose themselves in their favourite tv shows. Regardless, it’s your job to remind them of your awesome sale.

9.) Create Special Cart Abandonment Automations

To maximize earnings, you should create special, Black-Friday-specific cart abandonment automation.

Your regular CA automation won’t be as effective because they don’t emphasize the Black Friday sale or utilize the other tactics listed above as effectively.

You can create more effective CA emails by:

  • Mentioning the Black Friday sale.
  • Displaying the price after the sale is applied.
  • Adding urgency by showing when the sale ends (either via a countdown timer or copy sharing the deadline).
  • Informing recipients of free shipping or other objection handlers, if applicable.
  • Adding other extras like a shipping calendar or eta.

Harvey Nichols created a simple but effective Black Friday cart abandonment email.

Harvey Nichols CA

10.) Optimize Your Emails For Mobile

33% of Black Friday/Cyber Monday purchases in 2018 happened on a mobile device, according to Adobe’s Holiday Shopping Trends Report. That share has likely only grown since.

So in order to maximize revenue, you’ll need to optimize your Black Friday emails for mobile devices.

The primary concern with mobile optimization is ensuring that your emails render properly on mobile devices so subscribers see the full email with everything in place.

While there are many ways to optimize for mobile, we’ll discuss what we see as the 3 most important ways:

1.) Use Mobile-Responsive Templates
Mobile-responsive templates are the best way to optimize email for mobile. These templates automatically adapt to the size of the screen they’re displayed on.

Without responsive templates, your emails may be subject to a host of rendering issues that’ll ruin your email display and turn subscribers away. No matter how good your offer is, if subscribers can’t properly view your email, they won’t buy.

2.) Provide “View In Browser” Links
As we discussed earlier, putting shoppers in the right frame of mind is one of the 2 most important factors for convincing shoppers to buy your products.

Images are crucial to capturing a recipient’s attention and putting them in the right frame of mind. Especially product images.

Many mobile devices and email clients block email images from displaying. This can also cause rendering issues, as email elements will then be shuffled around the missing image and displayed incorrectly.

One workaround is to provide a “View In Browser” link. These links enable subscribers to view the email in their web browser where they’ll be able to see the full email as it was intended to be seen.

3.) Test Your Emails
Even with a team of coding professionals and experts in 40+ ESPs, we still experience rendering issues all the time.

But by the time they get to subscribers’ inboxes, every email renders perfectly.

Why? Because we test our emails before we hit send.

And you should do the same. Holiday emails are too important to take chances with. And mistakes can lead to unacceptable amounts of lost revenue.

Many ESPs have testing tools integrated into their software. If not, you can use testing tools like Litmus to test your emails.

These tools will show you how your emails will render across a variety of email clients and devices. They’ll help you spot any issues so you can fix them before launching a campaign.

Black Friday Email Subject Lines

The Open Rate of your Black Friday emails will depend largely on how good your subject lines are.

Good subject lines need to:
Capture your subscribers’ attention.
Communicate the important info about your sale.
Convince subscribers to open (by tapping into their emotions).

We’ve put together a list of the most effective subject line tactics, and included examples of great subject lines (many of which have been taken from real Black Friday emails). Use these tactics to help you create subject lines of your own.

While there are many other subject line tactics, we’ve chosen to focus on tactics that tap into the most influential emotions and motivations related to Black Friday: urgency, exclusivity, and opportunity.

You don’t need to stick to just one tactic. Feel free to mix and match as you see fit.

When creating your Black Friday emails, come up with at least 10 subject lines using each of the tactics above (for a total of 70) for each email.

Then you can combine your favourite parts of different subject lines and use whichever you like best.

But still, keep it simple. You don’t want to overwhelm or confuse subscribers. And there’s no need to cram every tactic into your subject lines.

Subject Line Best Practices

Before we get to the subject line tactics, let’s review a few best practices to help guide you as you create your own subject lines.

1.) Put The Most Important Info At The Beginning
We’ve already discussed the importance of optimizing for mobile and how to ensure your emails render properly. But mobile optimization also applies to subject lines.

Mobile devices display fewer subject line characters than other devices. After a certain number of characters, the subject line gets cut off.

And while different mobile devices display different amounts of characters, the cut off is generally around 25-30 characters.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to keep your subject lines to 30 characters or below. Just be sure to put the most important info (the sale amount; urgency keywords; etc.) at the beginning.

Example: Black Friday 20% Off Sale: Get Your Favorite Shoes At The Lowest Price

2.) Get Straight To The Point
According to an analysis of emails sent using their platform, Omnisend found that the best performing subject lines were short and to the point.

Cutesy, creative subject lines can work. But you’ll be taking a risk. And Black Friday shoppers don’t really care about your writing skills – they’re looking for great deals.

The point is: if you have a creative subject line idea that effectively communicates the necessary info about your sale, use it. If not, don’t rack your brain trying to be a poet. Keep it simple.

Examples: Black Friday 30% Off Sitewide

3.) Use Active Words
The goal of the subject line, like the rest of the email, is to get subscribers to take action.

Active words engage readers better and are more effective at getting them to take action.

Just as important, active words are shorter, and using them keeps your character count lower.

Examples:

  • Shop Now
  • Act Fast
  • Get Yours Today

The Direct Subject Line Tactic

The beauty of Black Friday subject lines is that they don’t have to be clever. The sale itself does most of the work.

Shoppers expect big sales on Black Friday, so they’ll already be interested in what you have to offer. So often your best bet is to just be direct and clear.

Your subject line should:

  • Inform them that the email is about the Black Friday sale
  • Tell them how much they can save
  • Tell them what products it applies to (if the sale only applies to certain products or if you want to highlight certain products that your subscribers are interested in).

Direct Subject Line Examples:

  • Our Black Friday Sale Starts Tomorrow. Save Up To 30%!
  • Save 20% + Free Shipping w/ Black Friday Sale
  • Your Favorite Shoes 30% Off Now!
  • Black Friday Weekend – 20% Off Everything!
  • 25% OFF STARTS NOW!

The Urgency/Scarcity Subject Line Tactic

The Urgency Subject Line is the same as the urgency tactic mentioned earlier. The goal is to make subscribers’ FOMO overt and bring it to the forefront of their minds.

The keys to creating urgency with your subject line include:

  • Tell them when the sale is ending.
  • Tell them how much time is left in the sale.
  • Hint that supplies may run out soon.

Anyway, you can highlight the scarcity of the sale/opportunity works to create urgency that will compel subscribers to act.

Urgency/Scarcity Subject Line Examples:

  • Reminder: Black Friday 30% Off Sale Ends Today!
  • Last Chance: Save Up To 40%!
  • 4 Hours Left! 50% Off Black Friday Sale…
  • Black Friday Countdown Starts Now…
  • Get Our Incredible Deals Now!
  • Black Friday: 50% Off While Stocks Last

The Exclusivity Subject Line Tactic

The definition of exclusive is “restricted or limited to the person, group, or area concerned.” In other words, it’s defined by limitations.

The concept of exclusivity in marketing is related both to the fear of missing out as well as the ability to obtain something special, unique, or limited.

The fact that Black Friday sales only happen once a year makes them exclusive events that are available for a limited time. As such, shoppers feel a fear of missing out on these great deals.

You can bring this time-sensitive exclusivity to the forefront of their mind with your headline by reminding subscribers about the limited nature of Black Friday sales:

  • Our Hottest Deals Of The Year – Shop Now!
  • 50% Off All Watches! Supplies Running Out Fast!
  • Time Is Running Out To Get Our Lowest Prices Ever. Shop Now!

But you can also tap into exclusivity by describing how subscribers are getting something special that others won’t get:

  • Be The First To Shop Our Black Friday Deals!</li
  • Early Black Friday Access! Save 50% Today!</li
  • Skip The Line – Shop Our Black Friday Deals Today!

The Anticipation Subject Line Tactic

Anticipation subject lines work best for your Black Friday reminder emails. They’re used to build hype and anticipation for your upcoming sale.

The formula is simple: tease the upcoming Black Friday sale + tell them how long until it goes live.

Anticipation Subject Line Examples:

  • Get Ready! Black Friday Sale Starts Tomorrow!
  • Preview This Year’s Awesome Black Friday Deals!
  • Black Friday Sneak Peek…
  • 3 Days Until 40% Off Black Friday Sale!
  • Black Friday starts in 3…2…

The Bonus Subject Line Tactic

The bonus subject line tactic plays up the added bonuses of your Black Friday sale. It sweetens the pot by adding a little something extra.

What else are you giving shoppers besides just the discount? Free shipping? Buy one, get one deal? A special gift?

Be sure to let them know about it in the subject line to tantalize them even more.

Bonus Subject Line Examples

  • Black Friday: 50% Off + Free Shipping
  • 4 Hours Left On BOGO Black Friday Sale
  • FREE SHIPPING! Black Friday Starts Today!
  • Black Friday: 25% off + a free gift!
  • Black Friday – 10% off + free shipping & installation!

Prepare For Your Black Friday Windfall!

Now you have everything you need to create stellar email campaigns that maximize your Black Friday revenue.

Don’t wait. Plan your campaigns as soon as possible.

Start by creating a few Black Friday teaser emails that include the sale amount, date, applicable products (or product suggestions), and other relevant info (free shipping, etc.)

Then apply the other tips in this article to create awesome, revenue-generating Black Friday emails.

Digital marketing and new tools have opened doors for new avenues to communicate with customers, but email marketing remains the popular channel for customer outreach and relationship building. And the best opportunity to connect with the audience is holiday email marketing. Holiday emails enable organizations not just in building a relationship with the customer but have also shown increasing click through rates and open rates.

So, if you are looking to craft a holiday email marketing strategy, here are a few things to help you get started.

How Holiday Email Marketing Adds Values to Your Business

Several factors drive customer behaviour, but some of these patterns haven’t changed much. A look at the global audience will tell that most of the purchase decisions or business closing have always been higher during essential holidays. And according to research by the National Retail Federation, holiday sales account for 20% of all purchases, amounting to $707.5 billion in 2018 alone.

But while holidays have played an essential role in email marketing, recent events have triggered email marketing to be crucial. The pandemic has impacted almost every business unit and industry, but this impact is not entirely negative. There is a sudden spike in demand for products that are helping people to cope with the pandemic and the long hours of isolation. As the world spends more time indoors and there are lockdowns enforced in several geographies, people are looking to make the most of their time at home.

As per research, the sale of essentials globally is around $40M-$50M. But the ‘new essentials’, like telecommunications, education, office supplies, home furnishing, health and beauty products, activewear and others have seen sales of up to $140M. What this tells us is that buying patterns and consumer behaviour have changed and this is an excellent opportunity for enterprises to tap into. Email marketing will be the gamechanger in this scenario, as the face-to-face sale or other avenues of marketing are now limited.

So, holiday email marketing, especially since the pandemic, will play a key role as:

  1. It provides the opportunity to reach out to the target group and stay relevant
  2. Helps to increase sales as customer interest in the ‘new essentials’ is at its peak
  3. It increases the chances of a purchase or influence buying decision if timed correctly

When to plan holiday emails?

Every country has its major holidays, and see peak sales times. This means that if you are in the United States, the important holidays are during Christmas, New Year and Black Friday sales. In Asia, Chinese New Year will see the best results while in India, this could be around Diwali.

So, to make the best of your holiday emails, you have to know which are the dates that you will be targeting well in advance. This planning helps to create not just email marketing but overall decisions like launching new products, sales discounts and other essential strategies that drive revenue. To know when to email, consider the following:

  1. Where your target audience is located? In case you have a mix of several geographies, ensure you segregate your email list to send out targeted campaigns.
  2. What does your target audience do? This may not always hold ground, but if your target is doctors or medical workers, wishing them on doctor’s day can have an impact. Even though some may not celebrate the occasion, sending an email will help to create a lasting impression.
  3. Religious festivals or cultural holidays: While most brands avoid any religious holidays, it can help to give your emails a personal touch. However, know that you need to be very careful about your campaign audience when sending out these emails, as sending it to the wrong person can be a deal-breaker.

A step-by-step email marketing strategy

Once you create a holiday email calendar for your email marketing, it is time to get down to business. To get the best results, here are a few tips to help you set the right context:

Build your campaigns early

If you are planning to send New Year’s greetings to your contacts, know that most of them will have their holidays planned around that time. To ensure that your customers are reading your emails, you need to create email campaigns early on, preferably 10 to 15 days before the actual holiday. In case you are providing discounts or a sale, start announcing it in advance. In this way, you give your customers enough time to make the purchase.

Segment the list

Not all holidays apply to all contacts, and there’s no point sending the email to the wrong person. So, email list segmentation is essential, for it allows you to send relevant and targeted emails to the right group. In addition to sending the right holiday emails, the new compliance laws require you to send only the relevant emails to your contacts. This means if a particular connection has opted only to receive emails on a specific product or service, you should not be sending promotional or holiday emails.

Choose the right theme

The holiday email is not just a boring newsletter; it should have fun elements that capture the essence of the holiday. Even in professional B2B emailers, the holiday email can have informal content and features. For example, you can wish people trick o treat during Halloween, and explore several design options to get the right response.

You can even explore several free themes online and opt for templates that are available with your email marketing tool. However, don’t just send a template as it is, make sure you are editing it to match your branding.

Create content that connects with the audience

Holiday email campaigns like any other email marketing need to have compelling content that the audience will love. This ensures that your emails have a high open-rate and also the right outcome. The best way to do so is to understand what the client needs, and not be too pushy or salesy. For example, the current crisis had led to job losses, and the purchase patterns have changed. In such a scenario, creating email campaigns that provide tips to use your tool better or a gifting guide can make much more sense. In any holiday email, EMPATHY is the fundamental emotion to harness.

Launch exclusive discounts if possible

If you are targeting holiday emails for driving revenue, providing a sale or discount offer is a great option. The major holidays have driven the maximum sales for companies. As per research, 27.3% orders on Black Friday are driven by email marketing, and an average shopper spends $850 on holidays. So, strategize for exclusive deals and discounts depending on each customer behaviour and lifecycle to get amazing results.

Moreover, make sure your Call To Action (CTA) is compelling and time-bound. This strategy increases the chances of purchase since limited-time discounts are highly enticing and no one wants to miss out on a great offer!

Optimize for mobile

Smartphones are booming, and roughly half of all emails are opened on mobile devices. This means that if your emails are not optimized for mobile, you will be losing out on your key audience. According to Adobe’s holiday sales recap showcased that mobile accounted for 60% online traffic and 40% online holiday sales.

To optimize your emails for mobile, a simple checklist would be:

  1. Selecting email templates that are optimized for mobile. This means the images and the icons used are responsive and resize as per the screen on the mobile device.
  2. Optimizing images to be attractive but not too heavy in terms of size
  3. Creating content with short sentences to make it easy to read on mobile screens

There are several other ways to optimize for mobile, and most email marketing tools have mobile-optimization as a key feature.

Add your social media presence

The holiday email marketing strategy should also fit in with your overall digital marketing strategy, and most of your audience spends a significant amount of time on social media. So, it is worth considering to add social media buttons to your email. As most shoppers look at online profiles and reviews before making a purchase, adding social buttons creates value and helps your audience connect with you on several channels.

Send out test emails before the actual

Finally, once your email campaign is ready, don’t just shoot it out. Make sure to send out a test email internally. Make sure all the links are working, and images are loading correctly. And if there are any typos, this is the opportunity to correct them. This helps to create a check and stops any wrong information from going out to the audience.

Additionally, once the emails are sent, track the metrics like open rate, successful deliveries, bounce rate, etc. This helps to understand whether the email is having the right impact on your target audience.

How to plan your holiday emails?

As we discussed earlier, there are many email options for a holiday, and each has its own impact.
So don’t just send one email and expect the results to start flowing in. It is important to send out multiple email campaigns depending on the strategy you’ve opted for. For important events and discounts, you can create campaigns like:

Save the date / Heads up on upcoming discounts

These are emails that announce an upcoming sale or provide a heads up for a holiday season offers. Also called the ‘teaser’ email, the whole idea is to get the customer excited about what’s coming.

Email on the actual holiday

Starbucks has always done a great job connecting its products with customer emotions, and it does so in its holiday emails too. It has done a great job with the subject line also, which is what gets the high open rates.

Subject

No flowers, but all of the chocolate

Seasons greeting with the discount code

Here’s an example of how a holiday email can not just be strong sales but also driving customer engagement. Campaigns that do not push the deal and instead drive interaction are more likely to lead to higher success. This example showcases how the user is not tied in to buy from storEdge, and are being given a gift for just filling out a demo form.

Storedge

Turbo Charge Your 2020 Holiday Email Campaigns

Although half the year is already behind us, the holiday season is still something your audience is going to look forward to. The first half of the year has seen massive disruption due to the pandemic, but everyone has their eyes set on the holiday season. So, start planning your holiday campaigns today, and use these tips and recommendations to build out email campaigns of your own.

Multi-ESP Support

We support 50+ ESP vendors. Be it enterprise platforms such as SalesForce and Oracle Marketing Cloud or small and medium sized business platforms such as Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Aweber, and ActiveCampaign, we’ve got you covered.

Top